The empty speech in Nelson Rodrigues

Abstract

There is nothing to be interpreted in Nelson Rodrigues’s works, for in them there is no repression, unconscious substitution, or parapraxis. Everything is done and said, and even the evaluation of the plot is given in the text itself: “These are the results of patriarchal education” (Álbum de família). The aim of this article is not, therefore, to analyze the author, his characters, their psychological reactions or acts, but a certain type of dialogue common in his work: dialogues which are reduced to the bare minimum and are always inconclusive.
They are present in six modalities: 1. to ask; 2. to tergiversate; 3. to doubt; 4. to swear; 5. to confess; 6. to apologize. These are performative verbs, that is, verbs that accomplish an action and enclose their meaning in the very act of enunciation. They do not have a referent in reality, but are simply speech acts. Since they are artistic dialogues, they are not empty speech (neurosis), but emptied speech.