“Órfãos de filhos”: uma análise sobre a representação do suicídio em Crocodilo, de Javier A. Contreras

Abstract

Suicide is a social phenomenon whose experience dates back to remote times, with equally variable meanings throughout history. In contemporary contexts, it has been characterized as a socially reprehensible act, whether from moral, religious, or cultural perspectives. Thus, the theme has appeared dispersed across a multiplicity of literary texts and artistic productions throughout history. Given the recurrence of such manifestations in literature, the contemporary novel Crocodilo, written by the Brazilian author Javier Arancibia Contreras (2019), was selected in order to analyze the impacts that delineated the intriguing act of ending one’s own life, with particular attention to the mourning of parents facing the loss of a child. To this end, the study discussed how voluntary death has been represented in literature, the social aspects portrayed in the fictional narrative, and the symbolic importance of suicide in contemporary literature in analogy to the reception of the work. The object of study and general theme addressed in this research was Crocodilo, by Javier Arancibia Contreras (2019). Accordingly, the research was guided by the following central question: What implicit and explicit schemes of interpretation of the social world were mobilized by the author when exploring an experience as dramatic as suicide and its effects? The general objective was to analyze the literary representation of suicide in Crocodilo (2019), observing how fiction articulated the social, cultural, and symbolic aspects of this phenomenon. The specific objectives were: (i) to examine how these representations could influence public and individual perceptions of suicide; (ii) to explore different disciplinary perspectives on voluntary death; (iii) to investigate the impacts of this act on humanity, subjectivity, and language within the context of the novel; and (iv) to reflect on the process of constituting our own perspectives on suicide in literature. Methodologically, the research carried out a review of the selected work in order to explore and describe the characteristics of the phenomenon under study. Thus, it was classified as bibliographic research, with a qualitative approach. From the perspective of its objectives, it was characterized as descriptive research. The theoretical framework included Antonio Candido (2017), Antoine Compagnon (2014), Umberto Eco (2016), Terry Eagleton (2019), Georges Minois (2018) Durkheim (2002, 2008, 2011), Philippe Ariès (2012), among other authors. It was concluded that literature, by socially representing suicide, allowed access to different narratives and perspectives, broadening the understanding of the theme and enabling more sensitive and profound discussions about a phenomenon that permeates both individual and collective life.