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Dissertação.Pdf Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Literaturas e Culturas Modernas, Área de Especialização em Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos, realizada sob a orientação científica do Professor João Paulo Ascenso Pereira da Silva “As if the night had said to me, ‘You are the night and the night alone understands you and enfolds you in its arms.’ One with the shadows. Without nightmare. An inexplicable peace.” - Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice “Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent: Then ghastly haunt thy native place, And suck the blood of all thy race; There from thy daughter, sister, wife, At midnight drain the stream of life;” - “The Giaour”, Lord Byron “The vampire is as old as the world. Blood tastes of the sea – where we all come from.” - Vampyres. Lord Byron to Count Dracula, Christopher Frayling “The blood...is the life, Mr. Renfield.” - Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) A todos os mestres do terror que nos proporcionam uma viagem inigualável pelas sombras da mente humana. AGRADECIMENTOS Gostaria de agradecer em primeiro lugar ao Professor João Paulo Ascenso Pereira da Silva, pela incrível dedicação e disponibilidade durante a elaboração desta dissertação. Entre infindáveis trocas de conhecimento e experiência durante longas conversas e a constante disponibilização de bibliografia, esta pesquisa foi progressivamente sendo construída até chegar a vós na presente forma. Não poderei deixar de estender ainda este agradecimento ao corpo docente que me acompanhou ao longo de três anos de Licenciatura e dois anos de Mestrado, ao qual devo não apenas novos conhecimentos mas também um profundo crescimento pessoal. Agradeço ainda à minha família pelo constante acompanhamento, infinita paciência e pelo imprescindível suporte financeiro. Por fim, resta-me demonstrar a minha gratidão ao meu incansável grupo de amigos, verdadeiras criaturas da noite que me acompanharam nesta longa viagem pelas ruas sombrias de uma Irlanda que desvendámos juntos. “Love will have its sacrifices. No sacrifice without blood”: subversão e transgressão em “Carmilla” de Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu Jéssica Iolanda Costa Bispo RESUMO PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Subversão, Vampiro, Era Vitoriana, Sexualidade, Uncanny, Transgressão Envolto em mistério, o vampiro apresenta-se na literatura como uma figura extremamente complexa, munida de uma extraordinária versatilidade que lhe permite veicular os mais diversos simbolismos e estar sujeito às mais variadas interpretações. A presente dissertação tem como objectivo principal analisar a questão da subversão e da transgressão no conto “Carmilla” de Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, demonstrando assim de que forma a vampira presente na obra ameaça a ordem social vigente e, através do seu modo de actuação, questiona normas e convenções sociais extremamente restritivas. Observando o conto como uma analogia da Era Vitoriana, consideramos que Carmilla se estabelece como um elemento de libertação, quebrando tabus relacionados com a colonização britânica, a condição da mulher e a sexualidade. Assim, para compreender devidamente todos estes aspectos, consideramos necessário explorar o contexto político, social e religioso não apenas representado em “Carmilla” mas vivenciado pelo próprio autor, relacionando assim ambos e tornando esta investigação o mais completa possível. Recorrendo a um vasto corpus teórico, a diversas obras de renome que incluímos no subgénero apelidado de vampire fiction ou produzidas durante a Era Vitoriana e ainda à trilogia cinematográfica The Vampire Lovers (1970), Lust for a Vampire (1971) e Twins of Evil (1971) da Hammer Film Productions, procuramos em primeiro lugar oferecer ao leitor um panorama diversificado relativamente ao mito do vampiro e à situação da Irlanda no contexto do Império Britânico que se impunha na época com a sua missão civilizadora, para seguidamente analisar os temas que consideramos essenciais no suporte da nossa perspectiva que concebe Carmilla como um agente de subversão e transformação. A abordagem de questões religiosas, identitárias e políticas demonstra em pormenor como Carmilla subverte o Protestantismo e a identidade britânica, efectuando também uma verdadeira reverse colonization, revelando assim o seu impacto na sociedade vitoriana em geral. O uncanny de Sigmund Freud traz posteriormente à discussão a questão da repressão e permite compreender ainda melhor a figura da vampira transgressiva, seguindo-se um foco na condição da mulher vitoriana e como Carmilla destabiliza estereótipos sobre o sexo feminino. A relação entre a vampira e a sua vítima Laura recebe especial atenção na nossa análise da representação da sexualidade na obra, em que percebemos a dinâmica destas interacções e demonstramos não só como Carmilla afirma a sua homossexualidade e as implicações desta afirmação mas também como desperta em Laura o prazer da dor enquanto se satisfaz ela própria em fantasias de dominação e sadismo. Debatendo estes temas, procuramos ao longo das páginas que se seguem oferecer ao leitor uma oportunidade de observar a complexidade de um conto que é ainda frequentemente relegado para segundo plano no contexto académico mas que apela como poucos à travessia do véu entre o plano terreno e o sobrenatural, a vida e a morte, a luz e a escuridão, e que só os grandes mestres do terror e do gótico conseguem tão sabiamente perfurar. ABSTRACT KEYWORDS: Subversion, Vampire, Victorian Era, Sexuality, Uncanny, Transgression Enshrouded in mystery, the vampire presents itself in literature as an extremely complex figure, capable of being extraordinarily versatile, which allows it to convey the most diverse symbolisms and be subjected to various interpretations. The present dissertation aims at analysing the issues of subversion and transgression in the tale “Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, showing how the vampire in the story threatens the imposed social order and, through her actions, questions extremely restrictive social standards and conventions. Reading the tale as an analogy of the Victorian Era, I consider that Carmilla establishes herself as an element of liberation, breaking taboos related to British colonization, the condition of women and sexuality. Therefore, to properly understand all these aspects, I find it necessary to explore the political, social and religious context not only presented in “Carmilla” but also experienced by the author himself, relating both and making this research as complete as possible. Using an extensive theoretical corpus, several well-known works included in the subgenre known as vampire fiction or written during the Victorian Era and the movie trilogy The Vampire Lovers (1970), Lust for a Vampire (1971) and Twins of Evil (1971) by Hammer Film Productions, I seek firstly to offer the reader a diversified panorama concerning the myth of the vampire and the situation of Ireland during the British Empire which imposed itself at the time with its civilising mission. I will then analyse the issues I consider substantial in supporting my perspective that Carmilla is an agent of subversion and transformation. By approaching religious, identitary and political issues, I will be able to show in detail how Carmilla subverts Protestantism and British identity, truly accomplishing a reverse colonization, thus revealing her impact in the Victorian society in general. Sigmund Freud’s uncanny then brings to the discussion the issue of repression and allows us to understand even better the figure of the transgressive vampire, followed by a focus on the condition of the Victorian woman and how Carmilla disrupts stereotypes about womankind. The relationship between the vampire and her victim Laura will receive special attention in my analysis of the representation of sexuality in the tale, in which we will understand the dynamics of these interactions and show not only how Carmilla affirms her homosexuality and the implications of this affirmation, but also how she awakens in Laura the pleasure of pain while delighting herself in fantasies of dominance and sadism. By debating these issues, I intend, on the following pages, to present an opportunity to observe the complexity of a tale which is still frequently neglected in the academia but, like few others, invites the reader to cross the veil between the terrestrial and the supernatural, life and death, light and darkness, which only the great masters of horror and the gothic are able to pierce. ÍNDICE Introdução ................................................................................................................ 1 Capítulo I – Para um enquadramento do mito do vampiro .......................................... 11 1.1. A História e a Mitologia ............................................................................... 11 1.2. O legado do(s) Romantismo(s) ..................................................................... 18 1.3. O vampiro na literatura gótica da Era Vitoriana ............................................. 23 Capítulo II – “Carmilla” no espaço e no tempo .......................................................... 28 2.1. Uma Irlanda negra: panorama social, político e religioso ............................... 28 2.2. Sheridan Le Fanu: a vida do “Príncipe Invisível” .......................................... 33 2.3. O gótico irlandês.......................................................................................... 39 Capítulo III – “[H]ere we had our tea”: a transgressão política, identitária e religiosa ... 44 3.1. Um espelho do Além: o Protestantismo,
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