The Discourse of Interdiction in Chronicle of the Murdered House

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the discourse of interdiction in the novel Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lúcio Cardoso. Based on the fundamental opposition between nature and culture, it is intended to demonstrate that the “non-prescribed” relationships are pragmatically sanctioned by segregating the actors to certain spaces. Therefore, two orders of space are established in the narrative: the space of the “prescribed” relationships and the space of the “non-prescribed” relationships. In the novel, the “non-prescribed” relationships are the homosexual and incestuous ones, being the latter considered forbidden (interdicted). Considering the category of verticality, the spaces of segregation correspond to “low”. In the connection “high” versus “low”, the first one is the space of culture, social coercion, and “prescribed” relationships; the second one is the space of nature, individual drives, and “non-prescribed” relationships. The theoretical background is based on French semiotics theories. The methodology consists of an excerpt of the novel in which the selected subjects, on their narrative paths, aim to be in conjunction with their objects of value that is considered forbidden by the social addresser.