Tormented Sertanejos in search of solace: a comparison between Caipira Lau and Jagunço Riobaldo

Abstract

This article proposes a comparison between the short story "A consulta do Lau," from the book Lereias (Histórias contadas por eles mesmos) by Valdomiro Silveira, and the novel Grande Sertão: Veredas by João Guimarães Rosa, works published in 1945 and 1956, respectively. Based on Bernardo Élis' thesis that Rosa utilized the narrative technique of the Lereias stories, consisting of a narration by a person from the backlands (sertão), in the form of a monologue directed at an interlocutor whose presence is implied by allusions, we advance and demonstrate that not only was the technique systematized by Silveira employed in Rosa's novel, but also that several fundamental plot elements of "A consulta do Lau" reappear in Grande Sertão: Veredas: the narrator-character's forbidden love – a poor man from the sertão; the moral error with fatal consequences that appear as a punishment; the colloquy with a cultured city outsider – simulated by the narration – as a means to relieve remorse and anguish; among others. In our view, the narrative technique and the fundamental plot elements of Valdomiro’s short story were transposed into Rosa’s novel and transformed.