MAchado de assis e guimarães rosa: Loucura e razão em "o alienista" e "daran dl na"

Abstract

This essay intends to draw a comparison between "O Alienista," a short story by Machado de Assis that belongs to the collection, Papeis avulsos (1882), and Guimaraes Rosa's short story "Darandina," published in Primeiras estorias (1962). Both stories discuss the relationship betweenpower andpsychiatric discourse, albeitin decisively different fashions. It is suggested that Guimaraes Rosa might be making explicit references to Machado de Assis's story, as he had already done in his homonymous response to "O espelho," also by Machado. This study, inspired by Freudian psychoanalysis and the work of Michel Foucault, notably Madness and Civilization (1961), will point out the affinities and differences between the two narratives while focusing on the strategies adopted by reason for keeping madness silent.