Representação do homoerotismo em Bom-Crioulo, de Adolfo Caminha e Sodomita, de Alexandre Vidal Porto

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the representation of homoeroticism in Bom-Crioulo (1895) by Adolfo Caminha and Sodomita (2023) by Alexandre Vidal Porto from a comparative perspective. The central objective is to understand how homoerotic desire takes shape across different historical, social, and literary contexts, highlighting continuities, ruptures, and narrative strategies. To this end, the study draws upon the theoretical frameworks of Michel Foucault (2006), Judith Butler (2011), Georges Bataille (1987), and Octavio Paz (1994), as well as a historical overview of eroticism and homoeroticism in Western literature. The methodology is qualitative, combining comparative literature with critical discourse analysis to understand the works not merely as literary texts but as constructs within a historical-social system. The analysis highlights the social and moral prohibitions surrounding homoeroticism in Bom-Crioulo, set in the late 19th century and marked by the strong influence of medical and religious discourses. In contrast, Sodomita revisits Brazil's colonial past with a critical, contemporary gaze, reinterpreting homosexuality through the voice of Luiz Delgado and exposing the oppression exerted by the Catholic Church and the Inquisition. The study further identifies convergences and divergences between the works regarding language, character construction, and the representation of taboos, demonstrating how literature inscribes dissident bodies and desires across different eras. Thus, despite the temporal gap, both narratives engage in a dialogue that reveals the tensions between eroticism, identity, and power, thereby contributing to the broader debate on gender and sexuality in literature.