A ESTÉTICA DE HERBERT MARCUSE: PROJEÇÕES METAFÓRICAS NOS ESPELHOS DE MACHADO DE ASSIS E DE GUIMARÃES ROSA

Abstract

This paper arose from an interest in understanding art as liberating, and not merely as a form of sensitive and creative expression. In this article, we examine, from the perspective of Herbert Marcuse's aesthetic theory, the view of art as a truth superior to actual reality, capable of expressing subjective dimensions repressed by society. More specifically, we apply this conception to a short story by Machado de Assis and a short story by Guimarães Rosa, both titled The Mirror. We analyze to what extent these literary texts can be interpreted as expressions of subjectivities and revelations of the alienated human condition in social life. To this end, the article is developed in three stages: an exposition of Herbert Marcuse's aesthetics in the context of his critique of repressive civilization; an individual analysis of the short stories; and, finally, an interpretation of these stories through Marcuse's aesthetic conception.