Zooliterary landscapes. Animals in modern Brazilian literature

Abstract

This paper aims at investigating how animals have been portrayed by some modern Brazilian writers, such as Machado de Assis, Guimarães Rosa, Graciliano Ramos, Clarice Lispector e João Alphonsus. The purpose is to discuss the ways in which those authors deal with the so-called “animal question” and refuse to enclose the animals within the boundaries of the allegory and the metaphorical representation. It may be said that their works, far from being mere erudite restorations of the “bestiary” genre, are fictional and poetic spaces for critical reflection on literary and ethical matters related to the animal world.