Straggler of the Streets and Literature.

Abstract

This work aims to formulate a theory on the role the madman straggler o f the streets plays in popular imagery and the place he holds in his community. Madness, as here depicted, follows Foucault’s interpretation: a historically determined phenomena, divided, in the course of history, into two modalities one tragic, the other critical - the first, an interpretation prior to the advent of psychiatry. The material was collected in the literary narratives poetry and prose taken from the works of Brazilian authors and through the analysis of these narratives we sought to apprehend characteristics inherent in the relationships existing between the street-wandering madman and the community in which he roams players upon a world stage and thus to evaluate the connection between madman and town.