A figuração da criança e do adulto em O pequeno príncipe, de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the representation of children and adults in Antoine de Saint Exupéry's (1900-1944) work The Little Prince (1943), with an emphasis on the symbolic, allegorical, and figurative dimensions of the characters. The research is based on the assumption that literature, as a privileged space for representing human experience, can reveal and challenge the ways in which childhood and adulthood are symbolically constructed. In this sense, it proposes to analyze how the work articulates a critique of the adult world, marked by sterile rationalisms and utilitarian values, through the construction of archetypal characters that condense ways of being and seeing the world. The figure of the child—embodied in The Little Prince—is interpreted as a metaphor for sensitive listening, imagination, and affectivity, revealing itself as a pole of symbolic resistance against the rigid structures of modernity. The analysis is grounded in the theoretical contributions of Anatol Rosenfeld, Antonio Candido, and Carlos Reis, for the study of literary character; João Adolfo Hansen and Carlos Ceia, for the understanding of allegory; and Gilbert Durand, Jean Chevalier, and Alain Gheerbrant, regarding symbolism and imagery. The methodology adopted combines critical reading and interpretative analysis of the work, with a qualitative approach and descriptive-analytical character, considering both the formal aspects of the narrative and its historical context of production, especially the period of World War II. The dissertation is organized into four chapters. The first discusses the centrality of character in narrative construction; the second examines the functioning of allegory as a form of expression of moral and philosophical content; the third situates The Little Prince within the historical-literary context of its creation and reception; and the fourth analyzes the tensions between childhood and adulthood, questioning the generic limits of the work and its symbolic implications. Ultimately, it is concluded that Saint-Exupéry's narrative transcends the limits of children's literature, articulating a notion of childhood that invites the reader to reflect on the foundations of existence, listening, and emotional bonds. In this sense, The Little Prince asserts itself as an open work, capable of evoking multiple layers of meaning and depicting archetypes that continue to resonate with contemporary sensibilities.