Author Biography
Sabino, Fernando (1923- ), Brazilian novelist, short-story writer, and columnist. Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. He debuted with the short stories "Os grilos não cantam mais" (1941), but became widely popular, especially as a chronicler of daily life, balancing humor and lyricism. Among his many titles, notable ones include "O homem nu" (1960), "O gato sou eu" (1983), "O grande mentecapto" (1979), "O menino no espelho" (1982), and "Zélia, uma paixão" (1991). His texts are collected in "Obra reunida" (1996).
In "O encontro marcado" (1956), Fernando Sabino wrote the novel of his post-World War II generation, a book that has been constantly reissued: "Yes, I believed in God, but a distant God, forgotten, distracted, focused on other concerns than my petty problem of learning to live."
Mineiro Group
This designation, "Mineiro Group," was coined during the modernist period to distinguish the group led by Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Martins de Almeida, founders of "A Revista" in 1925, the first modernist publication in Minas Gerais. Emílio Moura and Gregoriano Canedo were editors. The group also included young writers whose work and renown would grow, placing them among the finest national writers: João Alphonsus, Abgar Renault, and Pedro Nava.
In the 1950s, another group of Mineiros emerged and grew in Belo Horizonte. Starting from an initial communion of ideas, they diversified their paths, all achieving prominence within their chosen literary genres. These are Hélio Pellegrino, Paulo Mendes Campos, Fernando Sabino – the author focused on in this work, Fábio Lucas, Otto Lara Resende, Affonso Ávila, and Sábato Magaldi – the latter, the first theater critic to be admitted to the Brazilian Academy of Letters.
Summary
Plot_ Synopsis:
It is pertinent to clarify here that Sabino's work "A Faca de Dois Gumes" is a trilogy, and as such, should be read in its entirety. Only by studying the narrative that comprises all the stories can students fully grasp the magnitude of the work. Therefore, we will provide a concise analysis of the first two stories and focus more intently on the last one, which was chosen for the entrance exams at the Federal University of Viçosa.
THE GOOD THIEF
The main characteristic of this story is its similarity to Machado de Assis's "D. Casmurro." It revisits the characters Bentinho and Capitu, identified respectively as Dimas and Isabel. Isabel is self-assured and an expert thief; Dimas, intimidated by her strong personality, gets lost in a labyrinth of daydreams to clarify his suspicions about his wife. The narrator's presumed adultery is also included.
He even tries to steal objects to prove a certain superiority to himself, but he can prove nothing to himself, to his beloved, or even to us, the readers. Dimas's insecurity increases when Isabel spends too much time with her cousin. The suspicion grows when we discover the theft of the book "O primo Basílio," another literary similarity, a playfulness that Fernando Sabino constantly employs.
A metanarrative is occurring throughout the story; in fact, it is an homage to great literary references.
Dimas ends up being arrested and gradually drifts away from his wife, growing old alone, much like the memorialist lawyer Bento in "D. Casmurro."
The confusing narrative is the main aspect to be studied in the work; the first-person narration confuses the reader, who is unable to ascertain the veracity of what is being told. Our greatest proof is the ending of the story, which reinforces the thesis we have demonstrated:
"..What brings me back to Capitu's enigma. Let's get to it." DRY MARTINI
This is a unique story in terms of Fernando Sabino's reinterpretation of so-called detective stories; the confusion and the chess game created by the narrative prevent any conclusion from the reader regarding the crimes:
We have a woman named Maria Miraglia (Amadeu Miraglia's second wife) who presents herself to Commissioner Serpa, claiming to be a victim of her husband's scheme.
She complained of Amadeu's attempt to kill her, as he had done with the other.
Our supposed criminal, Amadeu, tries to prove his innocence to delegate Serpa, who is trying to solve the case at all costs. The husband's alibi is again that of his wife's suicide, intending to drive him insane. The chess game is set up again, and both the reader and the delegate are checkmated.
At the end of this story, a homicide occurs in the same manner:
"...A man and a woman entered the bar, sat down, and ordered dry martinis. While the waiter served them, she went to the phone, he went to the restroom. When they returned, as they drank, the woman fell down, killed..."
At the police station, a frightened Amadeu takes advantage of Commissioner Serpa's carelessness, grabs his gun, and threatens the others present, including his own wife. In the ensuing shootout, everyone dies except Amadeu, who desperately commits suicide by jumping from the parapet.
The phone rings, ringing insistently, finding no solace in the languor of the death-filled space.
THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
It's no use knowing who is to blame if you don't know that it's you.
Aldo Tolentino
Main Characters:
Aldo Tolentino; Dr. Marco Túlio; Maria Lúcia; Paulo Sérgio
"And there he was: Aldo Tolentino, 50 years old, lawyer, widower, one son from his first marriage, two from his second, betrayed by his wife with his friend and colleague from the office, hiding in his own home..." "shorter, but well-built, well-dressed, sun-tanned, athletic appearance" the frivolous and unfaithful son of Aldo Tolentino, unjustly accused of homicide, represents the other side of the (wounded) edge.
Synopsis - Plot
Aldo seeks revenge on his adulterous wife, Maria Lúcia. To do this, he steals the identity of a subordinate at the office, fakes a business trip, and travels to São Paulo on behalf of his boss, Marco Túlio.
Once in São Paulo, our protagonist checks into a hotel to avoid suspicion and discreetly leaves for Rio de Janeiro via air shuttle with a forged passport on his return.
Upon his clandestine return home, he catches the adulterers in the act and kills them.
The perfect crime occurs, and the victim is Aldo Tolentino himself, who sees his own son pay for his crime by committing suicide in prison. Paulo Sérgio had arrived home in the early morning of the crime, found the bodies there, and became the prime suspect.
Work Structure:
Defragmentation of the narrative structure - the third-person discourse is permeated with psychologism, and the stream of consciousness is constantly resumed by Aldo Tolentino.
Textual Structure:
The violence in contemporary works is a notable resource for portraying our time in literature. The vision of desire as sexuality and urban hatreds blend, see example:
"...Finally, he turned her over on her stomach and fell upon her, possessing her with fury:
_Speak more, woman. Speak more, you bitch, tell me everything, you ordinary whore - and he finished, finally, while she moaned with pleasure beneath his body."
The colloquialism of the discourse is also another factor that interests us; pessimism is evident, and the existentialism about life is clear at the end of the story:
"...The delegate reported that Paulo Sérgio had hanged himself with his t-shirt in his cell.
_I'll be there shortly (said Aldo Tolentino)
Instead of leaving, he went to the pantry, still sleepy, took the bottle from the cupboard, and took all the pills. Then he returned to the office, lay down on the sofa, and soon fell asleep again.
Relevant Aspects
Contemporary Trends
The aesthetic experimentalism of the Week of 22 generated an ideology with which the problems of culture, such as quality and tradition, were re-examined. The interest in contemporary life guided Josué de Castro, Caio Prado Júnior, Jorge Amado, and Jorge de Lima. The Estado Novo (1937-1945) and World War II sharpened tensions in the realm of ideas, and new historical configurations generated new experiences in the arts, especially in literature. The production of authors from the first half of our century reveals unprecedented anxieties and projects in the works of poets, narrators, and essayists. In poetry, the generation of '45 isolated metric concerns, seeking to oppose the literature of '22, belittling the achievements of modernism.
In the panorama of new Brazilian poetry, Fernando Ferreira de Loanda insists on affirming difference and seeking new paths. This is the position of Alphonsus Guimarães Filho, Péricles Eugenio da Silva Ramos, João Cabral de Melo Neto, Paulo Mendes Campos, Hélio Pellegrino, and Lêdo Ivo, among others. All defend an intimate genre where images correlate with the sentiment that symbols hide and suggest. They submit to technical and formal demands.
In psychological novels, the path is through the introspection of psychoanalysis. Socialism, Freudianism, and Catholicism are used to understand social man.
Always be attentive to the reading of contemporary works, as what interests us most is their narrative structure, which is condensed and attractive to the contemporary reader accustomed to so many images from the digital world.
