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"Michael Kohlhaas", De Heinrich Von Kleist

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Rodrigo Campos de Paiva Castro Michael Kohlhaas – a vitória da derrota Uma interpretação da novela "Michael Kohlhaas", de Heinrich von Kleist Dissertação de Mestrado em Literatura Alemã apresentada à Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo Orientador: Prof. Dr. Helmut Galle São Paulo 2006 Aos meus pais 2 AGRADECIMENTOS Gostaria de agradecer, primeiramente, aos três professores sem os quais esta dissertação não teria sido possível: Uli, Helmut e Pasta. Os três contribuíram, cada um de forma diferente, para que este trabalho pudesse ser concluído. A eles, o meu mais sincero obrigado. Agradeço também à minha família e aos amigos pelos incentivos constantes e pelo apoio e carinho de sempre. Agradeço ao professor doutor Steffen Martus, da Humboldt Universität, de Berlim, por ter aceitado ser meu tutor na Alemanha, onde parte fundamental das pesquisas foi realizada. Agradeço ao Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, Serviço Alemão de Intercâmbio Acadêmico) pelo custeio parcial da viagem à Alemanha. Agradeço ainda à Capes pela bolsa que custeou este trabalho no meu regresso ao Brasil. 3 ÍNDICE Resumo/Abstract ........................................................................................ 5 Introdução ........................................................................................ ........... 6 Fazedor de enigmas – um breve panorama da crítica kleistiana ................ 11 Uma voz total ............................................................................................... 27 Um comerciante a caminho do mercado ..................................................... 75 A vitória da derrota ....................................................................................... 133 Bibliografia ................................................................................................... 139 4 RESUMO Esta dissertação, cujo enfoque central é a novela "Michael Kohlhaas", do escritor alemão Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811), procura identificar o mecanismo que permite à prosa do autor trafegar pelos mais diferentes espaços e assuntos sem, aparentemente, esfacelar-se. No primeiro capítulo, apresenta-se um breve panorama da crítica kleistiana, identificando-lhe alguns percalços. No segundo, analisam-se com mais atenção os mecanismos formais utilizados pelo narrador para compor o texto com que acompanha a trajetória do protagonista. No terceiro, analisam-se os móveis da ação de Kohlhaas. Ao final da dissertação, conclui-se que a novela traça um perfil da subjetividade moderna, revelando-lhe o caráter alienado. ABSTRACT This dissertation, whose main object is the novella "Michael Kohlhaas", written by the German author Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811), tries to identify the mechanism which allows the writer's prose to inhabit the most diversified spaces and to present the most diversified subjects without apparently falling to pieces. The first chapter presents a short overview of the Kleistian literary criticism pointing to some of its problems. The second one analises the formal mechanisms used by the narrator to build the text with which he will present the path opened by the main character of the novella. The third one will analise the motives of Kohlhaas' actions. At its final part, this paper concludes that this Kleistian novella presents the profile of the modern subjectivity revealing its alienation. 5 INTRODUÇÃO Este trabalho desenvolve uma tentativa de interpretação da novela "Michael Kohlhaas", do escritor alemão Heinrich von Kleist. A primeira quarta parte dessa novela, mais tarde reescrita e ampliada, foi publicada em 1808. Dois anos mais tarde, Kleist reelaboraria esse texto e completaria a narrativa, uma das que integram o primeiro livro dele intitulado Erzählungen (há um segundo com o mesmo título, mas com outras novelas). "Michael Kohlhaas", que conta a história de um simples comerciante de cavalos extremamente terrível e extremamente justo, é considerada a mais importante do escritor e, nela, pode-se identificar com clareza as marcas estilísticas da intrigante prosa kleistiana. Esta análise tentará destrinchar a estrutura formal e o móvel conteudístico da novela, esforçando-se por descobrir como, nela, unem-se, sem que se unifiquem, características de forma e conteúdo paradoxais. Esse esforço, que deve desembocar em um apontamento sobre as conseqüências de tal mecanismo, passa por identificar o fundamento material da prosa do escritor, o que significa, em certa medida, apreender-lhe o caráter inapreensível. No mundo apresentado pela prosa de Kleist, os conceitos passam a seu contrário sem parar, esvanecendo-se a cada tentativa de fixá-los. Não apenas Kohlhaas conjuga em si, sem despedaçar-se, características paradoxais, mas também todo o texto e o mundo todo apresentado nele. A luta por justiça travada pelo comerciante mergulha necessariamente na barbárie. A carga histórica de sua trajetória ganha potência mítica. A disputa hodierna por dois cavalos faz-se atravessar por vários eventos mágicos. À sanha do protagonista por ver a realidade curvar-se a seus desígnios contrapõe-se uma série de eventos ocasionais que desempenham papel fundamental na fixação do destino dele. Kohlhaas e o narrador tentam moldar o mundo servindo-se de um mecanismo que tratará de tirar-lhes o controle sobre os acontecimentos em nome de garantir-lhes a autonomia. Ao final desse esforço de interpretação, estará traçado um perfil do sujeito moderno e do caráter alienado dele. 6 A novela chama atenção por diversos motivos, mas também pelo fato de dividir alguns traços comuns com obras importantes da literatura brasileira. Daí porque, talvez, analisar essa obra desde um ponto de vista calcado no Brasil, e este é o caso deste trabalho já que se trata de uma interpretação realizada por um estudante brasileiro de literatura, possa permitir a identificação de características importantes dela. Se esta dissertação conseguiu, ao menos parcialmente, realizar seu projeto, o que é bastante incerto, parte do resultado deve-se à adoção desse (necessário) ponto de vista "nacional" e à remissão, ainda que muitas vezes não expressa, às lições dos críticos brasileiros. "Michael Kohlhaas" é ainda, e de longe, a narrativa em prosa mais longa de Kleist, o que significa encontrar nela uma boa parte dos temas retomados continuamente pelo escritor no restante de sua produção ficcional. Ou seja, trata-se de um texto fundamental para qualquer um que pretenda entrar em contato com a obra do autor alemão, praticamente desconhecido no Brasil. "Kleist o quê?" Essa a reação de muitos quando ouvem o nome do escritor. Heinrich von Kleist, apesar das constantes viagens que realizou durante sua curta vida, parece não ter conseguido aportar nestas paragens. Não que os autores de língua alemã encontrem um grande trânsito entre os (poucos) leitores brasileiros – e talvez seja mesmo uma impropriedade falar em algo como um "grande trânsito" nesse caso. De todo modo, para além dos clássicos de renome, como Goethe, Schiller, Kafka, Thomas Mann e Brecht, e talvez alguns autores mais recentes, como Günter Grass e Thomas Bernhard, há poucas notícias sobre a literatura alemã, o que significa deixar de lado autores do peso de Lessing, Jean Paul, Hölderlin, Musil, Broch e tantos outros. Entre os "renegados", está também Kleist. O caso desse escritor deveria, portanto, ser mais um entre muitos não fosse a importância dele para a literatura alemã, e mundial. Kleist escreveu, segundo alguns críticos, uma das principais novelas ("Michael Kohlhaas"), a principal tragédia ("Pentesiléia") e a principal comédia ("A Bilha Quebrada") da língua alemã. Mas, talvez mais importante do que isso, foi o autor que antecipou, bastante precocemente, muitos dos traços característicos da literatura moderna, em especial da obra de Kafka, que tinha por Kleist uma confessa admiração. A atualidade evidente de textos como O Processo e A Metamorfose já pode ser encontrada, em grande parte, nos textos kleistianos. No 7 entanto, o destaque justificável dado à obra de Kafka no Brasil contrasta com a desmerecida quase invisibilidade a que foi relegado Kleist. Talvez seja um gesto recorrente daqueles que se dedicam a analisar obras de autores meio desconhecidos tentar justificar seus esforços iniciando essas análises com a realização de peripécias para convencer seus eventuais leitores sobre a importância do autor estudado. Limito-me nesta introdução a constatar essa ausência de Kleist no Brasil, e deixo a cargo da análise apresentada nos próximos capítulos a tarefa de comprovar a importância do escritor. O fato de esse ser um autor alemão explica em parte sua presença etérea no país. Como essa língua é considerada "difícil" em vista do pequeno número de brasileiros que dominam o alemão, o recurso às traduções é quase incontornável. Essas, no entanto, estão pouco acessíveis. Há edições em inglês, francês, espanhol, italiano e português das obras kleistianas, certamente, mas apenas as traduções para a primeira língua podem ser encontradas com maior facilidade e em maior abundância no país. Nas demais línguas, entre as quais o português, Kleist continua a ser algo raro para um leitor brasileiro. Da novela "Michael Kohlhaas", encontrei duas traduções para o vernáculo nacional, ambas impossíveis hoje de serem compradas nas livrarias: uma de Cláudia Cavalcanti, para o português do Brasil, e outra, anterior, de Egito Gonçalves, para o português de Portugal. Além de difíceis de serem achadas, essas traduções são pouco fiéis ao original. O tradutor português alterou
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