São Bernardo: A Tragic Reading of the Work

Abstract

The paper offers a detailed analysis of the novel “São Bernardo”, by Graciliano Ramos, with the aim of exploring its profound relationship with the principles of Greek tragedy and its re-signification in the context of modernity. The research supports the hypothesis that the work is intrinsically tragic, not just because of the presence of dramatic events, but because of the narrative structure that evokes the inevitable fate, tragic failure (hamartia) and catastrophe that are typical of the genre. Madalena's suicide, although a crucial point in the narrative, is interpreted not as the climax that defines the tragic nature of the work, but as a natural and inevitable consequence of the tragic universe that Graciliano Ramos constructs. In this sense, the study seeks to understand how individual and collective tragedies manifest themselves within the historical, social and psychological context of “São Bernardo”, offering a reading that places the novel in dialog with classical traditions, while at the same time revealing its contemporary relevance. The analysis emphasizes the way in which Ramos uses tragedy to reflect on existential and social anxieties, suggesting an interpretation of the work that transcends the plot and reaches the deepest roots of the human condition.