DEMONS BY ALUÍSIO AZEVEDO: HORROR AND PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

The aim of this work is to understand the relationship between the gothic, fantastic and naturalist elements in the tale Demons by Aluísio Azevedo, in which the narrator/character’s trajectory is portrayed in Rio de Janeiro permeated by darkness and silence, notably marked by mud, silt and death people. In addition, it seeks to point out the position of the short story in the contest of Brazilian Literature at the end of the 19^th century with the aim of highlighting its exceptionality. Then, it is approached how the romantic, gothic and fantastic elements are constructed in order to reinforce the main topics of Naturalism. Finally, it is proposed an alternative interpretation to the main ones existing in the text – such as the exaltation of romantic love and escapism –, that takes Demons as marginal in relation to the work characterized as canonical, also the literary criticism takes its construction as a “failure of composition”, which disturbs the characterization of its naturalism. This research concludes that the romantic aspects are not aesthetic subterfuges or flaws in composition, but aesthetic-literary resources used to highlight philosophical-literary positions of naturalism itself.