Matilde: uma representação da prostituição em Roque Santeiro ou O Berço do Herói, de Dias Gomes

Abstract

This thesis traces an analysis of the work Roque Santeiro or O Berço do Herói (1960), by Dias Gomes, with the fundamental objective of portraying the representation of female prostitution in the literary universe. Thus, to bring out the relevance of the aesthetic look when inscribing the prostituted body in a society that effectively creates rules and norms, sometimes tyrannical, to control the woman's behavior. Starting from a historical reality and from the conception of prostitution as a conscious practice of negotiating the body for some financial and/or material compensation, without an anthropological or feminist bias, we seek to discuss why the prostitute is denied social integration and the way society condemns the harlot to loneliness and death. Matilde, a character in the play of Dias Gomes, goes beyond that, not being so severely punished for her craft, nor having to make concessions to the local society, which traditionally judges and rules under the standards of the sacred and the profane. Our work is based on the historical and philosophical records of Nickie Roberts (1992), Nancy Qualls-Corbett (2005), Gilles Lipovetsky (2000), Paulo Sérgio do Carmo (2011) and Jonathan Kisch (1998), as well as other works by themes relevant to our study in order to support the analyzes and reflections developed throughout this research.