Posthumous memoirs of mulatto insanity: A pathological interpretation of machado de assis’s appropriations

Abstract

Studies to identify possible relations between artistic creation and psychopathology (starting in nineteenth-century Europe) have influenced Brazilian thought on this topic. The objective of this article, from the perspective of the history of health sciences, is to analyze viewpoints throughout the twentieth century which considered the neurological and psychiatric diseases of Machado de Assis as fundamental to the development and content of his literary work. A theoretical and methodological reading based on Bakhtin found that many authors considered Machado de Assis’s epilepsy to be the main reason behind his creativity, which allowed a review of the appropriation of different psychiatric theories in Brazil, as well as various theoretical concepts.