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João Guimarães Rosa (; 27 June 1908 – 19 November 1967) was a Brazilian
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspi ...
,
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
writer and
diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internat ...
. Rosa only wrote one novel, '' Grande Sertão: Veredas'' (known in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
as ''The Devil to Pay in the Backlands''), a revolutionary text for its blend of archaic and colloquial prose and frequent use of
neologisms A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
, taking inspiration from the spoken language of the Brazilian backlands. For its profoundly philosophical themes, the Literary criticism, critic
Antonio Candido Antonio Candido de Mello e Souza (July 24, 1918 – May 12, 2017) was a Brazilian writer, professor, sociologist, and literary critic. As a critic of Brazilian literature, he is regarded as having been one of the foremost scholars on the subject ...
described the book as a "metaphysical novel". It is often considered to be the Brazilian equivalent of
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's '' Ulysses''. In a 2002 poll by the
Bokklubben World Library Bokklubben World Library ( no, Verdensbiblioteket) is a series of classical books, mostly novels, published by the since 2002. It is based on a list of the hundred best books, as proposed by one hundred writers from fifty-four countries, compiled ...
, "Grande Sertão: Veredas" was named among the best 100 books of all time. Rosa also published four books of short stories in his lifetime, all of them revolving around the life in the
sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...
, but also addressing themes of universal
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...
and of existential nature. He died in 1967 — the year he was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
—, victim of a heart attack.


Biography

Guimarães Rosa was born in Cordisburgo in the state of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
, the first of six children of Florduardo Pinto Rosa (nicknamed "seu Fulô") and Francisca Guimarães Rosa ("Chiquitinha"). He was self-taught in many areas and studied several languages from childhood, starting with French before he was seven years old. He later recalled, Still a child, he moved to his grandparents' house in
Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
, where he finished primary school. He began his secondary schooling at the Santo Antônio School in
São João del-Rei São João del-Rei, also spelled São João del Rey or São João del Rei, is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1713 in homage to King John V of Portugal, the city is famed for its historic Portuguese colonial arch ...
, but soon returned to Belo Horizonte, where he graduated. In 1925, at only 16, he enrolled in the College of Medicine of
Federal University of Minas Gerais The Federal University of Minas Gerais ( pt, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG) is a federalIn the Brazilian Higher Education context, ''Federal'' does not mean ''collegiate'' (even though most Federal Universities in Brazil enjoy a sim ...
. On June 27, 1930, he married Lígia Cabral Penna, a sixteen-year-old girl, with whom he was to have two daughters, Vilma and Agnes. In that same year, he graduated and began his medical practice in
Itaguara Itaguara is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Its population in 2020 was 13,435. Toponym ''Itaguara'' is a coinage from Tupi–Guarani, meaning "wolf rock", by combining ''itá'' (rock) and ''guará'' (Wolf). See also * ...
, where he stayed for nearly two years. In this town, Rosa had his first contact with elements from the
sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...
. With the break of the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932, Guimarães Rosa served as a volunteer doctor of the Public Force (''Força Pública'') heading to the so-called Tunel sector in Passa-Quatro, Minas Gerais, where he came into contact with the future president
Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...
, at that time the chief doctor of the Blood Hospital (''Hospital de Sangue''). Later on, he became a civil servant through examination. In 1933, he went to
Barbacena Barbacena is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is . It is in the foothills of the Serra da Mantiqueira south of the state capital Belo ...
in the position of Doctor of the 9th Infantry Battalion. Rosa later recalled that the experiences from his time as a doctor and a soldier were significant for his formation as a writer. In the following year, Rosa began his diplomatic career. In 1938, he served as assistant-consul in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, Germany, where he met his future second wife, Aracy de Carvalho Guimarães Rosa, the only Brazilian woman to be officially granted the title of
Righteous among the nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...
for her assistance to
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...
escaping the
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. In 1963, he was chosen by unanimous vote to enter the
Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...
(''Academia Brasileira de Letras'') in his second candidacy. After postponing his acceptance for four years, he finally assumed his position in 1967, just three days before passing away in the city of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, victim of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...
, at the summit of his diplomatic and literary career.


Work


''Sagarana''

Although Guimarães Rosa began to write with
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...
, his only volume of verse, “Magma”, was relinquished by the author and was only published posthumously. In turn, Rosa began pursuing a literary career by inscribing a collection of twelve short-novels in a contest, in 1938, whose jury was chaired by the then already prestigious
Graciliano Ramos Graciliano Ramos de Oliveira () (October 27, 1892 – March 20, 1953) was a Brazilian modernist writer, politician and journalist. He is known worldwide for his portrayal of the precarious situation of the poor inhabitants of the Brazilian ''sert� ...
. The older writer denied him the first prize. Ramos himself later explained his devaluation of the first drafts of a work later known as ''Sagarana:'' in spite of the author's talent and the many beauties of the collection, he thought that the uneven quality of the stories and their often exaggeratedly long passages resulted in a work that was incoherent and immature.Ramos, Graciliano. "Conversa de Bastidor". http://blog.opovo.com.br/pliniobortolotti/graciliano-ramos-o-editor-de-guimaraes-rosa/ Guimarães Rosa extenuously reviewed his work, until finally considering it ready for publication only in 1946. In its mature form, already noticeable in ''Sagarana'', Rosa's style vastly differs from that of Ramos. The latter's succinct, dry expression is in harsh contrast with the former's exuberance of detail and quality of language, rich in vocabulary and adventurous in its exploration of the
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
of the
Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, ...
, qualities the Ramos himself would endow as his fellow writer's greatest virtues. “Sagarana” is a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordssaga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...
) and “rana” ( Tupi for “in the manner of”), thus translating as “(stories) in the manner of folk legends”. The book is composed of nine short-novels, three less than the original version submitted to the contest eight years earlier. All of these find their setting in the
sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...
and nearly all revolve around the figure of the jagunço, a mercenary-like figure that serves as a militia to farmers and secures the order in the Brazilian backlands. Rosa, however, would craft this outlaw manner of living to a type of
existential Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
condition according to which bravery and faith are the two driving forces of life.
Antonio Candido Antonio Candido de Mello e Souza (July 24, 1918 – May 12, 2017) was a Brazilian writer, professor, sociologist, and literary critic. As a critic of Brazilian literature, he is regarded as having been one of the foremost scholars on the subject ...
related this treatment to a view of the jagunço that was inspired by the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
knights and their values. Rosa brings to his narratives the regional aspects of the ''sertão''. His use of language closely follows the
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...
of the ''sertanejos'' – inhabitants of the ''sertão''–, employing regional terms and variations of words, as well as borrowing their traditions and customs. Furthermore, he takes advantage of the
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
and the
wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
of the sertão to
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such ...
the stories. Vivid descriptions of
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
s (most notably in the short-novel ''São Marcos'', “
Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Acco ...
”, where mystical lore of popular witchcraft and the vividness of nature are blended together) and animals, especially bird flocks and groups of cattle, populate the pages of the book, not only in an attempt to capture the backdrop of the geographic ''sertão'', but also in close correspondence with the plot of the stories and as an extended
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
for the solitude of man and his pursuit of transcendence. This is not, however, limited to the content of his stories. The noted narrative ''O Burrinho Pedrês'' ("The Brindled Donkey"), for example, contains anthological passages where Rosa intensely manipulates the sonority of the sentences, whether mimicking the metric of the traditional verse-form of the popular songs of the sertão or employing onomatopoeia and
alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...
and juxtaposing several words that relate to the field of cattle breeding to textually recreate the sounds of the passing herds. Rosa would sustain and develop these characteristics through his later work. The most prestigious of these stories is the last, ''A Hora e Vez de Augusto Matraga'' (“The Time and Turn of Augusto Matraga”), referred to by Rosa as a sort of “key" to the collection The
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
of a worldly man, it recounts the redemption of a wealthy farm-owner named Augusto Esteves, or Nhô Augusto, a vicious person likened to all sorts of debauchery, who is betrayed and beat to nearly death, being finally left stranded in the deserted backlands and marked with a branding iron. Two old ''sertanejos'' rescue him and give him cares in their house; during his convalescence, a priest administers blessings to him and promises the violated man that all persons are intended to a particular and decisive moment of salvation. Once cured, he proclaims his wish to go to
heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
"''nem que seja a porrete''" ("even though by a cudgel"), and engages vigorously in farm working and good deeds and finds the companionship and friendliness of the jagunço leader Seu Joaõzinho Bem-Bem, who, reckoning the man's vocation to arms, invites him to his group, an offer which Nhô Augusto refuses in order to comply with his whish of ascending towards
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. Rosa later describes a scene where the explendour of nature is revealed to him through the bright colors of the flowers and the liberty of the birds. Affected by this revelation, Augusto departs to wander through the ''sertão'' in search of his “time and turn”. His demand only finds completion through a fight to death with the very leader of jagunços he once befriended. It is through a violent insurgence against what he sees as an unjust deed performed by the jagunços that Nhô Angusto ascends to a
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...
-like contention.


''Corpo de Baile''

Guimarães Rosa next book was ''Corpo de Baile'' (roughly, "Corps de Ballet"), published then years later, in 1956. For the second edition, the collection was divided into three parts, now usually published separatedly: ''Noites do Sertão'' (“Nights of the Sertão”); ''Manuelzão e Miguelim'' (a play on words with the names of two characters from the stories, using Portuguese
augmentative An augmentative (abbreviated ) is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes. It is the opposite of a diminutive. Overaugmenting something often makes it grotesque and so in so ...
and
diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-forma ...
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
es, translating reasonably as “Big Manuel and Little Miguel”); and, “No Urubuquaquá, no Pinhém” (“In the Urubuquaquá, in the Pinhém”, the names being locations in the stories). Such policy of publication, although authorized by the author himself, breaks the original structure of the book, whose complexity is often remarked. The very name of the collection points to this fact: the "corps de ballet" it refers to are the conjunction of symbols and ideias that figure repeatedly across the seven short-novels, reappearing here and there in this or that manner in order to gain yet another level of meaning. This "dancing" of motifs and metaphors takes place inside and outside of the stories. Among them, Rosa notably elects figures from
astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
to compose and ordinate the plots and the relations between themselves, crafting a book-long sequence of a single meaning. Such progress is mimicked by the story ''Recado do Morro'' ("Message from the Hills"), which, accordingly, occupied the middle of the book, being the fourth story in the original publication. ''Recado do Morro'' is also significant in its treatment of the ideia of a language of the ''sertão'' itself. In the story, a group of five sertanejos is escorting a German naturalist in an expedition through the state of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
. Parallel to their own discovery of the ''sertão'', another journey is recounted, following step by step the march of the travelers: that of a message given by the very backlands that is spread unpretensiously, much in the manner of an anecdote, by the marginal members of the region's society. First heard from a hill by a madman who lives in the caves of the backlands, he recounts the message to his brother, an impoverished traveler, who, by his turns, tells the message to a child. /The child proceeds to tell the message to a travel guide, the guide to a prophetic hermit, who takes it to be a sign of the
Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on ...
and lavishly repeats the message to a city's congregation; it is then heard by a neurotic man who, finally, recounts it to the poet and singer Laudelim. Each time the message is told, its conveyors slightly alter its contents, until the poet ultimately gives it the form a mythical ballad, which he sings at a party attended by the expedition members. Only then it becomes clear that the message all along was a warning to their leader, Pedro Orósio. Pedro, a handsome and viril man, is altogether hated for the relations he maintains with the wives of the other sertanejos. The men who he has fooled intended to have their revenge by letting him drunk and subsequently murdering him. Upon listening to the ballad, Pedro Orósio understands its hermetic symbolism to refer to himself and his pretentious men, which proves to be correct, and he is capable of saving his life after being warned by the "message of the hill". One can see here an illustration by Guimarães Rosa of how he himself understood his writing. Rosa intervenes the descriptions of the landscapes found by the German man's expedition with the successive versions of the story that the madmen, the child and finally the poet retell. Thus, he describes how a certain knowledge presented in nature is captured and mysteriously understood by those naïve or lunatic figures – something which is further established in ''Campo Geral'' – and becomes comprehensible through a poetic treatment, while accompanying a scientific discovery of the ''sertão'', a discovery that is incapable of revealing the true secrecies it uncovers.


''Grande Sertão: Veredas''

Rosa published his masterpiece, '' Grande Sertão: Veredas'' (literally, “Great Sertão: Tracks”, but translated as ''The Devil to Pay in the Backlands'', to Guimarães Rosa's disapproval ) in the same year. His sole
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
, the book began as yet another short-novel that he continuously expanded and is written in the form of a
monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...
by the jagunço Riobaldo, who details his life to an educated listener, whose identity, while unknown, defines him as an urban man. Riobaldo mixes the wars of the jagunços, which form the most straightforward part of the novel's
plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot'' ...
, with his musings on life, the existence of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
and the
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
– his greatest concern –, the nature of human feelings and the passage of
time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
and
memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
, as well as several short
anecdotes An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous, ...
, often allegories illustrating a point raised in his
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.) ...
. The book can be seen, as it was by the author, as an adaptation of the
faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
ian motif to the sertão. Riobaldo's account frequently returns to the central topic of his
discourse Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. ...
, which he proclaims as the reason for his telling his life-story, as he expects, albeit ironically so, an answer from his listener: whether or not the Devil, and therefore
evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
, exists. Riobaldo is anguished by the idea he may have conducted a pact with the Devil, although he is uncertain, and he often dismisses the
superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...
s and beliefs of the "sertanejos" as stupidities. The interpretation of this supposed pact vary widely.
Antonio Candido Antonio Candido de Mello e Souza (July 24, 1918 – May 12, 2017) was a Brazilian writer, professor, sociologist, and literary critic. As a critic of Brazilian literature, he is regarded as having been one of the foremost scholars on the subject ...
viewed it as an act of self-assurance, a symbolic deed by which Riobaldo can take hold of himself and of all his potential, something which allows him to become a powerful warrior who can extend vastly the power of his gang and avenge the betrayal of Joca Ramiro. In this, Candido insists, the pact is analogous to the initiation rites of the
chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric ...
s, through which the wan childe becomes a worthy knight. Willi Bolle, on the other hand, in a materialistic view of the book, which he considers to demonstrate the formation of the social order in the ''sertão'', sees the pact as an attempt by Riobaldo to socially ascend from his condition of a poor jagunço to the upper class of the rich farmers, an ascension which is the actual conclusion of the book. All this is conducted by the motif of the star-crossed
love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the lov ...
affair. Riobaldo is torn between two contrasting loves: Diadorim, another ''jagunço'', to whom he refers as a “demoniac love”, and Otacília, an ordinary beauty from the backlands, a godly love for times of peace. He has the company of Diadorim for most of his life, though their love remains unconsummated, but unites with Otacília only once his days as a jagunço are over and behind. The matter of the Diadorim's identity is highly problematic. Though a woman, Diadorim passes off as a man, under the name of Reinaldo, to enter the male-exclusive world of the jagunços. Her true gender is only revealed to Riobaldo after her death. This points to a frequent theme of Riobaldo's mussings: the inconstancy of things. According to Walnice Galvão, Riobaldo seems to reason that nothing ever is nor remains, but inside everything is its potential negation, which might easily suppress its anterior positive form. This fact is recounted several times by Riobaldo, often in sensorial metaphors, such as his description of poisonous rocks lying in the bottom of a clear river, or the stories he recounts of good men becoming vile and vile men becoming good. To her, the pact must be seen, in accordance with his perception, as an agreement with evil that results in great accomplishments and personal growth and a subsequent approximation towards God. Furthermore, the novel might be seen as an attempt of
memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
, and therefore his
speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they ar ...
, to retrieve that which has been irrevocably lost and attach personal meaning to it. Reality, therefore, becomes only a linguistic construction, made possible by the interaction of two persons. The novel closes with the sentence: “Travessia. O homem humano.” (“Crossing. The human human-being.”) followed by the symbol of infinity, a nod to the never-ending extension of life and its retelling.


Later works

''Grande Sertão: Veredas'' was followed by ''Primeiras Estórias'' (“First Stories”), a collection of twenty-one short-stories, published in 1962. Very famous among these is ''A Terceira Margem do Rio'' (lit., “The Third Bank of the River”) made into a film of the same name and the inspiration behind a homonymous song by
Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...
. The story, addressing the themes peculiar to Rosa's oeuvre and told in first person from the point of view of an observer, recounts the absurd event of a man who decides to live inside a boat in the middle of a water stream, giving no explanation for his actions nor achieving, apparently, anything with it. His last collection published in life was ''Tutameia – Terceiras Estórias'' (“Tutameia – Third Stories”), “tuttameia” being a
neologism A neologism Ancient_Greek.html"_;"title="_from_Ancient_Greek">Greek_νέο-_''néo''(="new")_and_λόγος_/''lógos''_meaning_"speech,_utterance"is_a_relatively_recent_or_isolated_term,_word,_or_phrase_that_may_be_in_the_process_of_entering_com ...
that breaks up as “butterfly's skeleton”, roughly meaning “ninharia”, or "something of low value". Two posthumous works followed: ''Estas Estórias'' (“These Stories”), another collection of short-novels, and ‘’Ave, Palavra’’ (a pun on the double-meaning of the word “ave”, which signifies both bird and an archaic salutation, being translated literally as “Bird, Word” or “Hail, Word”), a work of miscellany, compromising short-stories, poems, journal entries and travel notations.


Selected bibliography

* ''Caçador de camurças, Chronos Kai Anagke, O mistério de Highmore Hall e Makiné'' (1929) * ''Magma'' (1936) * ''Sagarana'' (1946) * ''Com o Vaqueiro Mariano'' (''With the cowboy Mariano'', 1947) * ''Corpo de Baile'' (1956) * ''Grande Sertão: Veredas'' ('' The Devil to Pay in the Backlands)'' (1956) * ''Primeiras Estórias'' (''First Stories'') (1962) (The story ''A Terceira Margem do Rio'' was later made into a movie of the same name) * ''Tutaméia – Terceiras Estórias'' (1967) * ''Em Memória de João Guimarães Rosa'' (1968, posthumous) * ''Estas Estórias'' (1969, posthumous) * ''Ave, Palavra'' (1970, posthumous) * ''The Third Bank of the River and Other Stories'' (Translated to English by Barbara Shelby Merello, reprinted by Orbis Tertius Press, 2020)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosa, Joao Guimaraes 1908 births 1967 deaths Ambassadors of Brazil to Germany Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian military doctors Portuguese-language writers Brazilian diplomats Brazilian Esperantists Brazilian medical writers Postmodern writers 20th-century Brazilian physicians 20th-century Brazilian writers Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Culture in Minas Gerais