1. Introduction
At first glance, it seems a conflicting task to study a subject by looking at it from different theoretical perspectives. However, adopting this position aligns with Bakhtin's ideas that "Various approaches are justified and are even quite necessary as long as they are serious and reveal something new in the literary phenomenon being studied, as long as they promote a deeper understanding of it.”
This perspective allows dialogue between currents, but it is not without its risks: crossing the borders of one and the other, and swimming in shallow water without, perhaps, diving into the required theoretical depth. This seemingly superficial aim is, in fact, a deep immersion into the literary text, as referred to by Bakhtin. And, in a way, it is polyphonic (if one employs the term in a simplistic and simplified manner), since various voices, a polyphonic choir of ideas, will be selected for analysis. It is worth remembering the study of polyphony from the Bakhtinian perspective has been a recurring study theme in Brazilian literature; however, attention should be drawn to the often-incorrect way in which the word is used. The conception by Bakhtin about Dostoevsky's work, which gave rise to the term polyphony, is a more complex strategy than having multiple narrative voices. It has to do with the way these voices behave in literary fact, as will be seen later.
However, it is a fact the different approaches have in common the figure of the new contemporary hero: a subject who no longer stands out for their deeds and heroism, but an individual and broken being who ventures into the unknown in search of their own essence. It is, therefore, a more humane being who longs to fill an existential void and yearns to survive the imminent threat of their demise. As a consequence, this hero is hesitant and split between a "Self" (ego) and an "Other self" (alter ego). It is in this context of the "Self" unfolding in the emergence of an “other” that the theme of the double is inscribed in the narratives and, in them, reveals human and social contradictions, both for psychology and psychoanalysis, and for the philosophy of language. The feelings of fear, the sensation of suffocation, and the dark and gloomy scenario stand out as an aesthetic effect of these concerns. In addition, as a consequence of the relationship Self/Other, the double has been represented by elements such as lookalikes; brothers (twins or not); father and son; shadow; reflection; and the image captured by painting / portrait / photograph.
This ontological conflict of the modern hero—the dissolution of identity and the fear of others—will be observed in the novella Night, by Erico Verissimo
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. It should be noted the Gaúcho (southern Brazilian) writer, an avid reader, was interested in studying psychoanalytic theories, as can be seen in his memories in the pages of Clarinet Solo (2005)
| [31] | Verissimo, Erico. Solo de clarineta [Clarinet Solo]. Companhia das Letras, 2005a. |
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. He read many of Freud's works, including The Stranger and Totem and Taboo, in addition to Melanie Klein, Envy and Gratitude. He was overly concerned about the verisimilitude of his characters, given that, within the psyche, the good and the evil, the yes and the no, coexist simultaneously, in a continuous game of opposites. The author himself discusses the contradictions of the individual, as we can see:
We put up a mirror, and get the other from the mirror, which is the other self. [...] if we put a mirror in front of us, we multiply by many. And, then, all the contradictions appear. [...] I began to gradually discover, through actions that began to appear, the different selves I have within me and of which I am the synthesis. Of course, one is always predominant. There is the superego, [...] the id [...]. And, finally, there are a range of other selves, larger or smaller. At times, some prevail over others. But there is a constant. Which is revealed in the temperament of a person (Verissimo, Clarinet Solo 42, emphasis added)
| [31] | Verissimo, Erico. Solo de clarineta [Clarinet Solo]. Companhia das Letras, 2005a. |
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.
It can be stated Verissimo, through his literary proficiency, accomplished the difficult task of representing the identity crisis experienced by the modern man, in which the duplicated being is a sign of a fragmented self. In this sense, it is no coincidence the protagonist of Night is conflicted, he is afraid of seeing his personality revealed, of not perceiving himself as self-sufficient and able to take control of himself.
The scope of this article is to examine the manifestation of the double as an artistic representation of conflicts that shape the human psyche. For this purpose, the following will be analyzed: a. the main theories on the double; b. the figurativeness of the individual's states of mind in the descriptions of the obscure spaces navigated by the protagonist; c. the enunciative-discursive procedures used to indicate the subject duplicity; d. the materialization of the being's division, an oscillating personality, into an antagonistic double embodied in the characters "dwarf“ and "tall man"; e. the possibility of a polyphonic narrative according to notions by Mikhail Bakhtin based on the embodiment of an antagonistic double. The ideas will be presented in four sections: 2 contextualizes the theoretical approaches contemplated and the narrative under study; 3 focuses on the aesthetics of space in Night; 4 directs the examination to psychological, psychoanalytic, and philosophical approaches on the analyzed corpus; and, 5, looks at the literary fact exclusively through the Bakhtinian view.
The literary work, through whatever perspective one adopts, presents the scenario of an era and the way this being sees his world and himself, providing a means to understand this new hero in his most comprehensive dimensions and most intimate truths.
2. Contextualization
2.1. Bakhtin and the Self-Other Relationship
The subject occupies a unique place in the world, for this reason, they are the only one able to answer for their oneness. It is only possible for the individual to think and talk about their place since one cannot see the world through the eyes of the other. However, the subject establishes a complementary relationship with the other, who serves as a mirror: when looking in the mirror, they do not look at the world with their own eyes, but with the eyes of the other. In the contemplative act, the subject is never alone, there is always another participant involved: the other's soul. The idea one makes of oneself in front of the mirror is false and fragmented, it does not refer to the entirety of the soul, after all, they may not like what they see. To try to assess how those outside see them, the individual must get into the place of the other and come back, like a double. Such distancing can generate changes since the subject is in a process of becoming.
On this principle, that of exotopy, the subject can only imagine themselves entirely under others' gaze, thus, establishing another principle, that of otherness: the me-for-myself is constructed from the relationship of me-for-others. Bakhtin (Aesthetics of Verbal Creativity, emphasis as used by the author)
| [2] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. Aesthetics of Verbal Creativity. 1st ed, Art Publisher, 1979. |
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recalls that, for the subject, as well as characters in a novel, the way others see them is important, even after death.
In his work Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics, Mikhail Bakhtin, when researching the critical fortune of the Russian writer, examines in the hero speech various forms in which the word of the other is present, given that their speech about themselves is built under the influence of the speech of the other. “The hero's attitude toward himself is inseparably bound up [...] with the attitude of another toward him” (Bakhtin 207)
| [3] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Discourse in Dostoevsky.” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.12 |
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. The word and point of view of the Other become essential to him. In the same fragmented subject, there are two consciousness, two merging voices, two replicas creating a decomposed consciousness uttered by a single communicator. The hero self-consciousness enters the consciousness the other has of them, even if the other is the subject themselves.
Self-consciousness analysis is fundamental to highlight the various voices in the narrative instance. The character becomes completely independent in relation to the speech of the other. The hero is always attentive to what people say about them, there is a polemic character to their self-awareness and statements about themselves:
The hero from the underground eavesdrops on every word someone else says about him, he looks at himself, as it were, in all the mirrors of other people's consciousnesses [...] and he takes into account the point of view of a "third person"(Bakhtin 53)
| [6] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “The Hero, and the Position of the Author With Regard to the Hero, in Dostoevsky’s Art.” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.9 |
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.
Bakhtin recognizes in the work of Dostoevsky the dialogue between characters presents a struggle between points of view and value judgments, each one trying to make their view of themselves and the world prevail. The Russian philosopher coined this unique trait of polyphony: "a plurality of consciousnesses, with equal rights and each with its own world" which "combine but are not merged in the unity of the event." (Bakhtin 6, author's emphasis)
| [4] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Dostoevsky's Polyphonic Novel and Its Treatment in Critical Literature” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.8 |
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. In other words, the voices sound unique and, at the same time, multiple; they make up a universe in formation; voices of the past and present represent the consciousness of the diversity of characters inhabiting the social universe. It should be emphasized it is not the plurality of characters and dialogues that represent distinct characters, but the plurality of voices swarming the consciousness of the subject, voices that mingle and, are, simultaneously, unique, forming a great polyphonic choir. That is, in one voice there are others, but they maintain their uniqueness. Therefore, such a polyphonic universe is nothing more than the representation of human relations: there are interactions; points of view; value judgments; conflicts; doubts, and contradictions—this representation is essentially dialogic. The character is conscious of their own discourse, a struggle between views of oneself, these points of view are what make the double arise (Bakhtin 5)
| [4] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Dostoevsky's Polyphonic Novel and Its Treatment in Critical Literature” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.8 |
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The characters are independent from their author, who is the great organizer, the conductor of a choir of voices; a special position in the architecture of the polyphonic novel. Bakhtin further notes the relationship between author and hero is a relationship between the self and the other established dialogically, on a relationship of responsiveness. A hero can only be a hero for an other subject, only in the discourse of the other, to the one who represents and completes them. In "The Hero in Dostoevsky's Art", in Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics (Bakhtin 47)
| [6] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “The Hero, and the Position of the Author With Regard to the Hero, in Dostoevsky’s Art.” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.9 |
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, the consciousness of the character is constrained by the consciousness of the author; the characters' self-characterizations are conducted by descriptions of them made by the author. The author-creator talks about them or expresses what others think of them or their relationship with the other. In Dostoevsky's novels, the hero begins to have autonomy, they are aware of themselves and the world, they have an extra view that comes to them through the tense interaction of the others' gaze upon them. Previously, it was the author who gave it finishes, such domain in relation to the finished whole becomes relativized. According to Bakhtin, the polyphonic novel was created by Dostoevsky and, by all accounts, no other author was able to achieve this style. This makes the task of studying traces of a polyphonic narrative in Night, by Erico Verissimo
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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, a task of great responsibility, perhaps even grand.
Thus far, the foundations of concepts by Bakhtin have been outlined. From here on, the discussion will aproach what psychoanalytic theories say about the construction of identity and the relationship Self/Other.
2.2. What the Other (Theorists) Say
In the 17th century, the double was a fruitful theme in romantic literature, in the 19th century, it emerges, notably, in fantastic literature, and, in contemporaneity, it is resumed countless times. The theme recurrence expands through different periods, for it is within the arts in general that the restlessness of human soul is restored with more expressiveness. The work of art opens up to at least two senses: what is common and what is unpredictable. Thereby, art dethrones the ordinary and redirects the gaze to the possible ambiguity of things; it is within this realm that it is possible to reveal the contradictory structure of the man. In literature, for example, what is forbidden, veiled, is ignited so that one can better understand the human being.
The theme of duplication alludes to some anthological texts, such as The Sandman, by E. T. A. Hoffmann, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, or Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, or The Double, by Dostoevsky. The representation of the double can appear in a single character who projects into another or other who is an immoral profile of the first. However, the most emblematic issue of the double is the ambivalence that can be embodied under the format of good/evil; good/bad; rational/irrational; madness/balance; beautiful/horrid, among others. In this context, the question "emerges as a personification of human antagonisms, bringing duality as an impression of strangeness between the limits of the rational and irrational, the real and supranatural, the natural and supernatural, thus, evidencing the contradictions of the individual” (Lamas 46)
| [21] | Lamas, Berenice Sica. O duplo em Lygia Fagundes Telles: um estudo em Literatura e Psicologia [The double in Lygia Fagundes Telles: a study in Literature and Psychology]. EDIPUCRS, 2004. |
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Nicole Fernandez Bravo, in Dictionary of Literary Myths (organized by Pierre Brunel)
| [9] | Bravo, Nicole Fernandez. “Duplo.” Dicionário de mitos literários [“Double.” Dictionary of Literary Myths], by Brunel, Pierre (org.). Transalted by C. Sussekind, et al. José Olympio, 2005. |
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, chronologically addresses several literary works that used the double in their narratives' construction and stresses the German term doppelgänger was established in German Romanticism and translates as “double” or “second self”, meaning “the one who walks alongside, travelling companion” (Bravo 261)
| [9] | Bravo, Nicole Fernandez. “Duplo.” Dicionário de mitos literários [“Double.” Dictionary of Literary Myths], by Brunel, Pierre (org.). Transalted by C. Sussekind, et al. José Olympio, 2005. |
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. According to the researcher, “the double is a metaphor or symbol of an identity which leads inside [...] The essential conflict shifts to the struggle for a better self in the choice between good and evil” (Bravo 168)
| [9] | Bravo, Nicole Fernandez. “Duplo.” Dicionário de mitos literários [“Double.” Dictionary of Literary Myths], by Brunel, Pierre (org.). Transalted by C. Sussekind, et al. José Olympio, 2005. |
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.
Otto Rank, in his work Der doppelgänger (“The Double”), published in the Journal Imago (Germany, 1941)
| [23] | Rank, Otto. Double: A Psychoanalytic Study. Translated by: Harry Tucker Jr., New edition, University of North Carolina Press Enduring Editions, 2009. |
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, introduced such a concept into the psychoanalytic literature. Starting from the study of literary texts, the psychoanalyst came to the conclusion that, in certain plots, deep human problems are addressed, specifically those related to the ego. The double is the division of the "self" and can manifest through processes such as metamorphosis or narcissism. It can also be represented in different ways: by the shadow; the image in the mirror; the portrait; the reflection; the look-alike; the brother, or the father. According to Rank, duplication presents itself as an internal conflict, a confrontation which “fulfills the secret, always suppressed wishes of the soul” (Rank 73)
| [23] | Rank, Otto. Double: A Psychoanalytic Study. Translated by: Harry Tucker Jr., New edition, University of North Carolina Press Enduring Editions, 2009. |
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. The fear of the double would be a sense of guilt for the distance between the self and the ideal self. The unfolding individual tries to protect themselves from the persecutions of their ego, hence the murder of the double is nothing else but a suicide. In literature, the ending of the double can also be interpreted as an allegory to the elimination of the past.
For Clément Rosset, duplicity occurs not exactly in view of immortality, on the contrary, the existence of the subject that is questionable; therefore, the unfolding is the denial of life. The individual will only be able to reconcile with themselves when they exorcise their double. For the theorist, the feeling of unfoldment happens only in sensation, because the individual is unique, the events are what unfold: “the double is present in the space of any illusion” (Rosset 23)
| [24] | Rosset, Clément. O Real E Seu Duplo [The Real and Its Double]. Translated by José Thomaz Brum, José Olímpio, 1985. |
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. When discussing the topic, he presents at least three reality perception processes: ignoring it, seeing only its shadow, and relying on the past. About the first, Rosset argues it is difficult for some individuals to accept reality and one of the ways to disentangle from what is real is to ignore it, maintaining the same behavior as before, as if they did not see anything (16)
| [24] | Rosset, Clément. O Real E Seu Duplo [The Real and Its Double]. Translated by José Thomaz Brum, José Olímpio, 1985. |
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. The second way of dealing with reality is to set what is real aside and only see what they want to see. The deluded sees perfectly, but what and how they want to see, this choice means a distorted understanding of reality: by refusing to accept it, they create two perceptions of the same fact (Rosset 23)
| [24] | Rosset, Clément. O Real E Seu Duplo [The Real and Its Double]. Translated by José Thomaz Brum, José Olímpio, 1985. |
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. The third means of escape is to rely on the past or the future: the subject projects what they want to disconnect from into one of these times since, this a way, it no longer is a disturbance, the past and the future will erase the present (67)
| [24] | Rosset, Clément. O Real E Seu Duplo [The Real and Its Double]. Translated by José Thomaz Brum, José Olímpio, 1985. |
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.
Sigmund Freud, in the essay entitled “Das Unheimlich” (“The Uncanny”), published in 1919, restors ideas by Otto Rank, and states that, in addition to the representations cited by Rank, the double also constitutes itself as the projection of the ego “as something foreign to itself.” (Freud 236)
| [16] | Freud, Sigmund. “The Uncanny.” The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, 1st ed., W. W. Norton and Company, 1976. |
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. In the past, the man believed he had full control of himself, without even imagining the existence of the unconscious. In the 19th century, the father of psychoanalysis brought to light that in the subject three instances coexist: the ego, the superego, and the id. The first is the conscience, the second regulates morals and values, and the third, the deepest level, is where the unconscious inhabits, the "cauldron of impulses"; it is in the id the darkest desires, regulated by the superego, are hidden. In some situations, these impulses come to the fore and, at that moment, the individual does not recognize themselves, since they do not believe they could be capable of such a feat, thus feeling an estrangement. In his studies on fear and horror, Freud points out when there are unexpected or dire situations, what was familiar until then, becomes frightening and begins to represent the ghosts of the unconscious. To refer to this subject, after researching in several languages, he came to the conclusion the German term unheimlich (unfamiliar) would be best suited as it is more comprehensive and because it is ambivalent to heimlich (familiar). Therefore, Freud uses this word to refer to the uncanny, whose meaning is directly linked to what causes fear and dread. However, the estrangement can come from something known, common, that has been suppressed in the human mind and returns causing an unpleasant feeling. The feeling of strangeness comes from particular reactions awakened by the encounter with certain people; things; sensory impressions; experiences, and situations. According to Schelling, unheimlich (unfamiliar) is everything "that ought to have remained secret… and hidden but has come to light." (Freud 224)
| [16] | Freud, Sigmund. “The Uncanny.” The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, 1st ed., W. W. Norton and Company, 1976. |
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. To Freud, if the man is endowed with consciousness, then he will have a double. In other words, the individual goes through a situation not unknown to them, but what is hidden in the id comes to the fore, without the superego censorship, and the fact causes estrangement, since the subject does not recognize themselves in that situation. The individual rethinks about or becomes conscious of themselves in the observation of their double.
Psychoanalysts Eduardo Kalina and Santiago Kovadloff point out Thomas Hyde, in 1700, was the first to use the word “dualism”, in the work The History of the Religion of Ancient Persia. This concept was used to designate the religious doctrine that said within the being there were two antagonistic forces, the good and the evil, who vied for the same time and space. "It is ‘being’ and 'non-being', two divergent forces that, when trying to separate, either cause the destruction of both or cause the reduction of one to the other” (Kalina and Kovadloff 103)
| [19] | Kalina, Eduardo, and Kovadloff, Santiago. O Dualismo [The Dualism]. Francisco Alves, 1989. |
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Carl Jung, in the work Man and His Symbols (1964)
| [18] | Jung, Carl G., et al. Man And His Symbols. 1964. 5th ptg., Aldus Books Limited, 1971. |
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, discusses the Self/Other integration. In this work, Dr. Marie Louise von Franz, one of the collaborators, says, in the article “The Process of Individuation”
| [15] | Franz, M - L. von. “The Process of Individuation”. Man And His Symbols, by Jung, Carl G., et. al. 1964. 5th ptg., Aldus Books Limited, 1971. |
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, it is through dreams that some aspects of the human personality are perceived. Just as Freud and Klein, Jung talks about the outer world, which is conscious, and the inner world, the unconscious. The mediator between one and the other is the ego. To represent social roles, the ego wears a mask which Jung called persona—as a reference to the masks used in theater in antiquity—, it hides the true essence of the individual and exposes only what it wants and how it wants to be seen, that is, it is the image the “self” displays to the other. On the other hand, the persona indicates that the subject is able to relate to the other, for they have the notion of the external representation of identity and of their responsibility in the world. The self will try to adapt to the expectations of the other in search of its appreciation. The persona development is only possible with the development of the ego. The mature ego is the one capable of adapting to its expectations and social expectations, imprinting on its social persona its individuality, its essence.
Whatever form it takes, “the function of the shadow is to represent the opposite side of the ego and to embody just those qualities that one dislikes most in other people” (Franz 173)
| [15] | Franz, M - L. von. “The Process of Individuation”. Man And His Symbols, by Jung, Carl G., et. al. 1964. 5th ptg., Aldus Books Limited, 1971. |
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. The self sees on the other that which they deny and attribute to the other but is a part of them they do not want to admit. Their belief is they will only be loved if they are perfect, hence one seeks to have recognition and admiration for the perfect image they want others to have of them. With this, one hides their negative parts, their fragility, the vulnerability of their ego, and their shadow. It can be said Jung's psychoanalytic theory reveals the existence of an other side of the personality, an indistinct side, not well understood because it refers to the most unknown feelings, impulsive acts or negative behaviors of the human being. According to the psychoanalyst, the “self” usually does not accept these behaviors with the excuse: “That doesn't matter; nobody will notice it, and in any case other people do it too” (Franz 168)
| [15] | Franz, M - L. von. “The Process of Individuation”. Man And His Symbols, by Jung, Carl G., et. al. 1964. 5th ptg., Aldus Books Limited, 1971. |
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. For a more stable ego, the encounter with the shadow can be painful, for the stability of the ego is linked to the idea that others see them in a positive way. Jung saw the confrontation with the shadow as a key condition to finding the true “self”.
Psychoanalyst Carl Francis Keppler also deals with the double in his book The Literature of the Second Self (1972)
| [20] | Keppler, Carl. F. The Literature of the Second Self. The University of Arizona Press, 1972. |
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. The researcher made an inventory of works that also dealt with this issue. He verified tales from several countries and came up with types of doubles, among them: the double pursuer (the evil one), who can be an animal; a monster; the image in the mirror; the portrait; the photograph; and the twin brother; the double as a vision of horror (which is not always perverse like the first), which is able to turn into a double savior; the double beloved, which refers to the opposite poles attracted by a magnetic force; the temporal double (also refers to the spatial), which means being in different spaces at the same time, for example, the subject moves from the past to the future or from the future to the past; and the tempter double, which, with their subtlety and persuasion, lead their opponent to self-destruction. For the theorist, the double has its origin at moment of fragility of the individual who has difficulty accepting their dark side, their shadow, resuming Jung. Ralph Tymms states the double is divided into two branches: the psychological—linked to subjective realism and addressed by romantic writers—and the allegorical—linked to the objective world, it is the struggle between the good and evil of the human soul. For Tymms, the double is the conscious side and the unconscious side of the individual, and perfectly represent "the twin faces of its Janus-head” (apud Keppler 188)
| [20] | Keppler, Carl. F. The Literature of the Second Self. The University of Arizona Press, 1972. |
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.
Finally, the double is nothing more than the inner dialogue between the conscious—the persona—and the unconscious—the shadow. Achieving equilibrium is raising the frankness of the persona and dispelling the contents repressed by the shadow. In a society where certain behavior patterns are established, more and more the individual finds themselves sundered between what they are, what they represent, and what they do not know about themselves. It is often noticed the man is lost, devoid of autonomy, emerging in an identity crisis when seeking the encounter with oneself, the confrontation with all his secret fears.
Literature represents the consciousness of this duality of the "self", intensifying contradictions and hypocrisies in the opposition between the shadow and the persona the individual must wear to play their role in society. According to Bravo: "The further we move into the 19th century, the more it comes to the fore—one of the characteristics outlined in Romanticism—the representation of the tearing experienced by the self even in its pathological aspects" (Bravo 276)
| [9] | Bravo, Nicole Fernandez. “Duplo.” Dicionário de mitos literários [“Double.” Dictionary of Literary Myths], by Brunel, Pierre (org.). Transalted by C. Sussekind, et al. José Olympio, 2005. |
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.
In view of these brief theoretical basis, the double will be analyzed in the corpus chosen for this article, guided both by the Bakhtinian perspective—since the work is an aesthetic object that reflects and refracts the conflicted universe of modern man—and by psychoanalytic theories. In this sense, the study of the theme of the double can point to another way of reading the novella Night and bring to light human and social contradictions.
2.3. About the Narrative
Night is a novella, an intermediary genre between the short story and the novel, considering its length, the unilinear plot, and the frame of the character’s life, caught at a moment of crisis. The narrative is not divided in chapters, but in scenes, which in turn are set apart by blank graphic spacing and the use of capital letters in the beginning of each excerpt. The events are explained through the inner landscape of the protagonist and presented without control, as proposed by surrealism. The narrative allows a look through the realistic perspective, as well as accepts the fantasy literature framework, due to the plot ambiguity (is it a dream or reality?), which leads to the surrealism aesthetics.
The action takes place in a single night. The central character is a man who the narrator picks up at the exact moment he loses his memory and feels like a stranger in a city that becomes completely unknown to him. In search of clues and disoriented, the protagonist reads in a newspaper there had been two crimes in the city that day: a femicide committed by a jealous husband and the theft of a passerby's wallet in a certain city park. At this point, he notices he was carrying a wallet without any identity papers, and a considerable amount of money, and had a gold watch on his wrist. He was also wearing blood-stained clothes, which makes him wonder how he got hold of those things. Tormented by guilt and blaming his amnesia for one of the crimes, he becomes an easy prey for two sinister figures who try to sway him of the coincidence surrounding the facts. The two beings lead the stranger through the most sordid and depressing places until dawn (a brothel; a cabaret; a funeral; and an emergency room).
Amidst the darkness, a figure stands out, a man dressed in white, with a serene and passive look, who plays a harmonica. The amnesiac thinks about asking him for help, but a strange spell binds him to the two diabolical figures. Throughout those hours of a night that does not seem to come to an end, the character follows the two demons and ends the night in the room of a prostitute, where he falls deep asleep. The night ends with the two “night birds” (Verissimo 47)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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disappearing and the stranger sleeping in the prostitute’s room. He wakes up at dawn and, in an epiphanic end, recovers his memory and identity. He is surprised to be in that place and in that company, since he believes the event happened as a consequence of sexual problems affecting his marital life. This fact is disclosed through memory flashes and analepses: moments of his childhood with his mother and ominous aunts, and his failed marriage. There is a temporal redirecting each time the anti(hero) tries to understand the situation.
At dawn, chronological time interweaves with psychological time in a present that merges into a past and a future. The presence of flashbacks at the end of the narrative triggers emotions that were latent. The actions, thus ordered, succeed in a crescendo, at a cumulative pace, in order to build an atmosphere that is intensified as the character regains his memory. When he gets home, during an inner monologue, he is faced with the reality he refuses to see: his wife, exhausted of his psychological problems interfering in their marriage, had left him. This plot, directly and/ or indirectly, moves toward the theme of the double, as will be seen later. The novella is a metaphor for the search of identity: the character is in search of himself, in search of his identity, in the labyrinthine and obscure paths of the soul.
3. The Aesthetics of Space and the Others’ Spaces
it is clear
darkness
is hanging by
a thread
Pio Vargas
Fear as an aesthetic effect is the emphasis in depictions of the double. To achieve such a feeling and ensure a suspenseful atmosphere, the setting of the space is sine qua nom. A narrative that pursues this goal will hardly present evil—be it of any order—in lush blooming gardens under the sunlight. Different dimensions appear in terms of space when facts are exposed in the light of day and in the after-dark dusk. Umberto Eco, in the essay “Mirrors”, says the mirror image would be inverted, symmetrical or of inverse symmetry (202)
| [13] | Eco, Umberto. “Mirrors.” Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language, Indiana University Press, 1986. |
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. Through this lens, it can be assumed the city has a visual angle in the daytime and, at night, it takes on a reverse symmetry. In The Anthropological Structures of the Imaginary, Gilbert Durand proposes two orders of images, the diurnal and the nocturnal, which bring together antithetical symbols made up of opposite or antagonistic images:
Night gathers into its evil substance all the preceding negative valorisations [...] the moment of nightfall, or sinister midnight, provokes terror: this is the time when malignant animals and infernal monsters take possession of bodies and souls. The fear of dangerous darkness seems a basic component of the imagination of light and day (Durand 89-91)
| [12] | Durand, Gilbert. The Anthropological Structures of the Imaginary. Translated by Margaret Sankey and Judith Hatten, Boombana Publications, 1999. |
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The space which, by day, is alive and pleasant, at night is covered with a taciturn and gloomy aura. By day, the sounds of footsteps cluster, mingle, and get lost among so many others; at night, these footsteps reverberate in the silence and emptiness. At night, the same paths, same buildings, same objects, take different shapes. Therefore, there is a double perception of the state of things by day and by night; it can be said at night the double emerges: from space, objects, and subjects. Through the streets, at night, roam creatures without name, without destination, without anything. There are no heroes, no naivety, no joy or bliss. Only condemnation, melancholy, and misfortunes. Wander through the streets only the helpless, the outcasts, and the unfortunate, in damnation, a disgrace without any perspective, as if at night specters came about and not humans: “[...] the night and its fearful inhabitants” (Verissimo 44)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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It is in this gloomy and unusual setting of the night that the eponymous narrative of Erico Verissimo takes place. In a drawn-out, slow diegesis that recollects German Expressionism, the heterodiegetic narrator adopts a demiurgic attitude and manipulates the plot and timing of the speech. It is a flanêur—to borrow the term coined by Walter Benjamin in the essay “The Paris of the Second Empire in Baudelaire”
| [7] | Benjamin, Walter. Obras Escolhidas III: Charles Baudelaire Um Lírico No Auge Do Capitalismo [Selected Works III: Charles Baudelaire: A Lyric Poet in the Era of High Capitalism]. 3rd ed., Brasiliense, 1994. |
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—which, with an almost voyeuristic pleasure, captures the (anti)hero at the very moment in which he loses his memory and the city becomes unknown to him. It is interesting to note that, even with the third-person narrator, it allows immersion in the interior of the protagonist. The facts are exposed, scenically analyzed, as if they occurred at that minute. At 8 o'clock on a random night, a man finds himself looking at a megalopolis without knowing who he is or what he is doing in that place and at that time. The time of the narrative is the only category set exactly: it begins at 8 o'clock and ends at six, with the break of dawn, roughly at the tides' times. That is, a chronological period comprising ten hours. However, the slow narrative seems to dilute time into hours and minutes, as if the clock stopped: “he walked, walked, walked, slept, wandered, and 1 hour and 25 minutes passed” (Verissimo 31)
| [29] | Verissimo, Erico. Noite [Night]. Companhia das Letras, 2005. |
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The pitch of the night invades the obscure, bewildered, and dejected soul of the anti(hero). “And in the nameless, disoriented streets of his own private night also he was lost” (Verissimo 4)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. It is noteworthy the street is not wide, bright, and busy, it is tight and poorly lit: “It was a narrow, dark street.", "He was a man of average height [...]” (Verissimo 16-1)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. The introduction common to fairy tales is inversely carried out since this is not a radiating, but a gloomy universe. The allusion to a remote time and space is maintained because it lies in the ambience of memories, the feeling of nonrecognition or unfamiliarity: "It must be another city, thought the man in gray.” (Verissimo 16)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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In search of clues and disoriented, the protagonist reads in a newspaper that there had been two crimes in the city that day: a femicide committed by a jealous husband and the theft of a passerby's wallet in one of the city parks. He takes from his pocket a handkerchief (with a fragrance), a box of matches, a pack of cigarettes, a fountain pen, and a wallet. He had a gold watch on his wrist and wonders how these came into his possession:
He drew out the wallet [...] A lot of money, a fortune [...]. He must certainly have stolen them. [...] The truth was, those objects didn't belong to him. He was going to pay dear for his crime [...]. Yes, he might have murdered someone. He stood up abruptly, stepped up on the bench, put his hands close to the light of the globe, and began examining them anxiously to see whether they were stained with blood. [...] Again he raised his arms to the light and discovered then that there was a watch on his left wrist. There, another stolen article! (Verissimo 8)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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Tormented by guilt and alluding to his amnesia one of the crimes, he is an easy prey for two sinister figures who try to sway him of the coincidence of the facts: he kept a wallet with no documents and a considerable amount of money in cash and wore clothes stained with blood. The two beings lead the stranger through the Babel-like streets of the city until dawn. In the haphazard journey through the most sordid and depressing places, amidst the darkness, a figure stands out, a man dressed in white, with a serene and passive look, who plays a small harmonica. The night ends with the two “night birds” disappearing and the stranger sleeping in the room of a prostitute. He wakes up at dawn and, in an epiphanic end, recovers his memory and identity. He is surprised to be at that place and in that company since he concatenates the event happened as a consequence of sexual problems affecting his marital life. This fact is disclosed through memory flashes and analepses: moments of his childhood with his mother and ominous aunts, and his failed marriage. There is a temporal redirecting each time the antihero tries to understand the situation. At dawn, chronological time interweaves with psychological time in a present that merges into a past and a future. It is noticeable the threefold presence of time proclaimed by St. Augustine in chapters XIV-XXXI of the Confessions
: of the past—through the memory that arises to him; of the present—through the view of his journey through the night; of the future—through the wait for answers. The presence of flashbacks at the end of the narrative trigger emotions that were latent. The actions, thus ordered, succeed in a crescendo, at a cumulative pace, in order to build an atmosphere that is intensified as the character regains his memory. When he gets home, during an inner monologue, he is faced with the reality he refuses to see: his wife, tired of his psychological problems interfering in their marriage, had left him. This plot, directly and/or indirectly, moves toward the theme of the double, as will be seen later.
The space of Night resumes fixed attention to the city environment. In a brief digression, it should be noted the industrial economy expansion and the demographic explosion of cities in the first decades of the 20th century lead to the emergence of a modern urban environment which required a new way of looking at the world and, consequently, new aesthetic proposals. The author focuses a magnifying glass on mechanized life; urban chaos; social inequality; and fragmentation and dissolution of the subject that gets lost amidst the city's frenetic pace and rushed atmosphere. For Verissimo, modernization triggered megalopolises in crisis, crossed by violence, by destabilization of values, and by the logic of exclusion. The leitmotif of the Gaúcho (southern Brazilian) author was, as he admits himself, "to perform a cross-section of society, laying bare all its hypocrisy and denouncing all kinds of violence against the human being it conceals" (Braga 31)
| [8] | Braga, Adolfo. “Prisioneiros”. A Liberdade De Escrever: Entrevistas Sobre Literatura E Política [“Prisioners.” The Freedom of Writing: Interviews on Literature and Politics], by Bordini, Maria da Glória, Editora UFRGS, 1997. |
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In Night, the city is foreign to the stranger: "He glanced about, recognized nothing and no one. He was lost in a city he had never seen before.” (Verissimo 2)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. The only information we have about this spatial category is that the wanderer was on the corner of a main avenue of a large port city. This feature leads to the perception all large cities are absolutely the same: problematic, exclusionary, and chaotic. The amnesiac wanders alone, hesitant, and with a bewildered look through typically urban places: busy avenues; a park; a kermesse; and sidewalks swarming with people who walk in haste, bumping into each other. These are labyrinthine and crowded spaces that seem suffocating, noisy, and uncomfortable to him:
From the paving stones of the sidewalks and the asphalt of the streets, pounded by the sun the whole day long, rose an exhalation as from a furnace. [...] the Stranger listened to the noises of the night: the tramp and the indistinct voices of the passers-by on the sidewalk, the dull thunderous roar of the traffic streaked through by the trumpeting of automobile horns and, at intervals, by the tinkling of the traffic-light bells. (Verissimo 3)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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The ground shook; the air filled with shrieks, barks, yells. (6)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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The city space in Night is not a mere accessory, but rather steeped with meanings; it is heterotopic (Michel Foucault: Of Other Spaces, Heterotopia, 1986)
since it unveils different realities, overlapped and multiple. The poorly lit streets create a depersonalized and polyphonic environment in which one is everyone:
"At long intervals a street light dimly illuminated a bit of sidewalk" (Verissimo 16, our emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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"Voices sounded close to his ears, struck his eardrums but told him nothing" (16, our emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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Along that megalopolis' paths, no trace of humanity, only the fruits of a rampant disorder: violence, loneliness, absence of moral values, and exacerbation of sex. The city is animated, a living and pulsating being that tries to adapt to the transformation imposed by progress, in constant chafing with man:
The city seemed like a living being, a monster with a scalding body, ready to attack him. [...] There was a moment when the man in gray confused the beat of his own heart with the rhythmic roll of the traffic, and in such moments, it was as though he had the city and the night within his own breast. (Verissimo 3)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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"the animals [the cars] that were attacking him" (6)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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It is worth remembering in the Middle Ages spaces were dichotomous, divided between the sacred, the good, and the profane, the evil. The evil inhabited the external world in the shape of beasts, plagues, murders, and foreigners; the good, the interiority, both protected by a wall that could be distance, for example. The sacred would be responsible for the oppositions' coexistence once their hidden existence was perceived. In this perspective, spaces existed as protected and exposed, urban and rural, near and far. In contemporaneity, coexistence between near and distant ensures the idea of both isolation and interaction. Therefore, the duality between the sacred and the profane already manifests in the spaces of the city. For Ítalo Calvino, in Six Memos for the Next Millennium, the city is a "complex symbol, which has given me greater possibilities of expressing the tension between geometric rationality and the entanglements of human lives" (Calvino 71)
| [10] | Calvino, Italo. Six Memos for the Next Millennium. 1st ed., Harvard University Press, 1988. |
[10]
: "And again he lost himself in a twilight region, peopled with voices and vague shapes [...]" (Verissimo 16, our emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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It should be noted the dichotomy between sacred/sublime and grotesque/profane crosses the entire narrative as symbolic implications conducive to the intervention of the double and the maintenance of the uncanny.
The "entanglements of human lives" (Calvino 71)
| [10] | Calvino, Italo. Six Memos for the Next Millennium. 1st ed., Harvard University Press, 1988. |
[10]
in Night is materialized in the absence of proper names. The protagonist is nicknamed the Stranger or the man in gray. The capitalized spelling is a resource to individualize the character and distinguish him from the many other inhabitants: “he was merely one of the hundreds of human beings moving along the sidewalks” (Verissimo 1)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. Furthermore, the capitalized spelling operates as a zoom lens, since the character is presented amidst the crowd: “Yet anyone who examined his face more closely, would notice something abnormal in his eyes, which now and then went as blank as the eyes of certain madmen” (1, our emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. The narrator directs his gaze and approaches that undifferentiated individual who, then, ceases being many to become unique; he is not a stranger, but the Stranger.
As stated, the identity of the amnesiac is not given to anyone, not even through identity papers, since there were none in the wallet. In the narrator's attempt to decipher the amnesiac anonymity, he raises doubt. It is known he has average height and is around thirty: “He was a man of average height, was about thirty at most, wore a gray tropical worsted suit and was hatless” (Verissimo 1)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. Gray “is the intermediate color between white and black, between light and darkness, truly appropriate for the atmosphere of mystery in which the characters move, struggling in the halftones that separate life from death”. (Chevalier 49)
| [11] | Chevalier, Jean, and Gheerbrant, Alain. Dicionário De Símbolos [Dictionary of Symbols]. Translated by Vera da Costa e Silva, 10th ed., José Olympio, 1996. |
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The other characters are also unnamed and all remain undifferentiated even with the absence of uppercase spelling. The antagonists are presented as “demons”; “night birds”; “tall man”; “red carnation man”; “master”; and “dwarf“; the peacemaker is the “man in white”, “angel”. The secondary characters enter and leave the scene and are identified by profession, nicknames, or physical characteristics, creating an atmosphere of total anonymity. As they lack proper names, they are devoid of individuality, moral and affective values in a modern and alienating society. Paradoxically, the places they go to are differentiated: the Sunflower of the Oceans coffee shop; the boîte Firefly.
It should be noted the antagonists differ even in appearance, however, they resemble each other in character. The master is tall, thin, elegant and seductive; the other is short, with a daunting and disgusting figure. The two descriptions balance within the scope of the grotesque and the profane and contrast with the sublime and angelic aura of the “man in white”. The opposing impressions simultaneously cause anguish and delight. The domain of the profane refers to the Seven Deadly Sins, while the sacred domain refers to the Guardian Angel. The “night birds” appear at dusk and disappear at dawn, just as vampires and werewolves, as if they came from obscure and mysterious regions, beings of a shared spell inserting contents that recreate the in-between place of the double. Together, the characters refer to the terms coined by Keppler: the second self as beloved, the second self as pursuer, the second self as tempter. The characters, then, would be metaphors for the three instances that coexist in the psyche, respectively: the ego, “man in white” (the conscience), the superego, “the dwarf” (the moral), and the id, “the tall man” (the impulses). As the master states: “Everyone has two faces.”, “We've put a great many people on the other side of the border [...]” (Verissimo 36)
| [29] | Verissimo, Erico. Noite [Night]. Companhia das Letras, 2005. |
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The novella is permeated by oppositions created from dualistic tensions connected to the characters master and dwarf versus the man in white, which can be categorized in the spheres of euphoria and dysphoria, and life and death impulses, namely: good and evil; light and shadow; animal and human; beauty and ugliness; anger and meekness; and lie and truth. It is noted the “truths” are found in the field of dysphoria and death drives, as will be explained.
4. In Search of the "Other” into the Night
It is known man connects to the world through the five senses, however, sight is closely linked to the narratives of the unusual and manifests in many ways: looking into the mirror; looking through the lenses of glasses; the squint gaze. According to Todorov: noticeably, "every appearance of a supernatural element is accompanied by the parallel introduction of an element belonging to the realm of sight” (Todorov 121)
| [28] | Todorov, Tzvetan. The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre. Cornell University Press, 1975. |
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. Thus, the double begins to take shape when the Stranger looks through a shopwindow and does not recognize his image in the reflection, emerging his doppelgänger. The mirror, “in the world of signs, becomes the ghost of oneself, caricature, mockery, remembrance” (Eco 37)
| [13] | Eco, Umberto. “Mirrors.” Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language, Indiana University Press, 1986. |
[13]
, and marks the transition between the real and the uncanny. At the moment of contemplation, the double configures as the projection of the ego “as something foreign to itself” (Freud 236)
| [16] | Freud, Sigmund. “The Uncanny.” The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, 1st ed., W. W. Norton and Company, 1976. |
[16]
. Everything which was hitherto familiar to the man in gray becomes frightening and begins to represent the ghosts of the unconscious, the unheimlich.
A man without a hat, his hair disheveled, his clothes stained, a cigarette stuck to his lips… It took him some time to realize that he was standing in front of a mirror. He started making gestures, which the other man repeated. The other? It was himself. (Verissimo 14, author's highlights)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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The mirror image emerges as a way of deciphering the subject and points to the dialectic game of the being and nonbeing, of presence and absence, of existing and the nonexistent. In Night, dichotomies, fundamental principles of narratives that indicate the existence of doubles, lead the character to frenzied inquiries around identity: “Who am I? Where? What's happened to me?” (2)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. The double also manifests when the Stranger imagines he is being chased, then recognizes it was his own steps he was hearing: "It was sometime before he realized that they were his own steps pounding on the pavestones of a deserted sidewalk." (Verissimo 16)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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At a more abstract level, the sprouting of a metamorphic process is inferred, an ideal means of trespassing the unclear limits between matter and spirit, between physical and mental. Metamorphosis can happen through the physical transformation or the psychic-behavioral transformation of the individual, motivated by an agent, which, in the novella in question, is the mirror. It can also be triggered by social or emotional pressures associated with a sense of guilt at the incompatibility between the real self and the ideal self.
The footsteps following the man in gray and the shadow accompanying him penetrate the amnesiac’s soul and transform into the sinister “night birds” who subject the Stranger to an automatism. In this transit, the double erupts at the beginning of the conflict and accompanies the (anti)hero until the end of the novella, projected in the antagonistic images of "tall man" and "dwarf"; the latter being possible to link to the iconic character Hyde, from Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson, 1886)
| [26] | Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jaico Publishing House, 2002. |
[26]
. Recovering Thomas Hyde in Historia religionis veterum Persarum, eorumque magorum (1700) in terms of the fact that human nature encompasses two antagonistic forces competing for the same time and space segment, the good and the evil. The two demons represent the evil, the profane; the man in white the good, the sacred, and are a symbolical projection of the inner crisis of a subject who is lost in the dimension of his own existence. Both the tall man and the short man are the repressed desires, hidden truths, impulses, and the cruel and animalistic side which may, possibly, have been hidden.
In the figure of the dwarf, the grotesque takes shape and its description promotes, at first glance, distaste, disgust, and aversion. The dwarf is depicted in caricature-like characteristics similar to Stevenson's monster: cruel; deformed; hairy; hunchback, with long nails and dirty clothes; of simian appearance, that is, an animal. It is noticeable, over the course of the narrative, the deformities mirror an amoral, sadistic, and despicable behavior:
[...] tried to bring the girl's lips to the level of his [the hunchback] own. [...] The dwarf attacked her with the fury of a rutting animal. [...] The girl again freed her head, uttered a moan, and began spitting to both sides with disgust. The dwarf raised his hand and slapped her (Verissimo 117)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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His hobbies include drawing people—especially faces of the dead and the sick—and foretelling facts, by saying truths no one wants to see, hear, or speak:
The hunchback perched himself on a chair, pulled out his fountain pen, and began leafing through the pad in his hands in quest of a blank sheet. (Verissimo 53)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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"Want me to tell you the year, the day, and the exact hour when you are going to die?" (104, author's highlights)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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The dwarf demon investigates the amnesiac's gaze and enters its interior, catalyzing desires in a portrait with which the Stranger does not identify. The unpleasant-looking and disgusting dwarf captures the secrets and repressed behaviors of the man in gray.
"There!" exclaimed the hunchback. And he displayed the sketch, to which the man in gray dropped his eyes indifferently. "Maybe you don't recognize yourself in this portrait—[...] What interests me is the drama which every individual carries inside him and doesn't show on the outside, but which in certain cases like yours is reflected in the eyes. Your eyes told me nearly everything." (Verissimo 25-26)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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In his amnesiac state, the Strange projects onto the dwarf his instincts covered by the persona. According to Jung Carl, in the work Man and his Symbols (1964)
| [17] | Jung, Carl G., et al. “Approaching the unconscious”. Man And His Symbols. 1964. 5th ptg., Aldus Books Limited, 1971. |
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, the shadow, in any form it presents itself, is the opposite side of the ego and embodies the character traits most despised in others. The man in gray sees in the other, in the ugly and disgusting dwarf, that which he denies in himself, such as selfishness; negligence; sexual fantasies; indifference; and licentiousness—his truths—upon the belief that only perfect people would be loved. By projecting on the double, the Stranger gives vent to an indistinct aspect of personality which refers to the most undisclosed feelings, to the unspeakable wishes he does not admit even to himself, to the repressed hedonism.
The Stranger's heart beat fast. His temples, his whole body, now throbbed with desire, but a desire that shamed him, a dirty and kind of incestuous desire [...]. (Verissimo 116)
| [29] | Verissimo, Erico. Noite [Night]. Companhia das Letras, 2005. |
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Encountering the shadow is painful, for the ego stability is linked to the positive idea of others in relation to oneself. Jung saw the confrontation with the shadow as a key condition for encountering the true ‘self’. In the case of the Stranger, it would correspond to the embarrassment resulting from difficulties of sexual nature faced from youth up to maturity: "How could he remain in peace with his feeling of shame and frustration? (Verissimo 154, author's highlights)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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Thus, the appearance of the dwarf is associated with the literature double proposed by Keppler (1972)
| [20] | Keppler, Carl. F. The Literature of the Second Self. The University of Arizona Press, 1972. |
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, the pursuer, which can be an animal, a monster, a portrait and/or a reflection. It can be noted that, in addition to having the appearance of an animal, a monster, this double pursues the Stranger in the shape of the portrait he draws, and in the form of the mirror image from which, in many moments, the anti(hero) tries to escape: “[...] went to the lavatory and, evading the mirror, opened the tap” (Verissimo 124)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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; “[...] looked at himself in the mirror without seeing his face [...]” (152)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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; “[...] the mad notion the mirror—witness of his misfortune, his ridicule—was the culprit.” (135)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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Like the dwarf, the tall man also refers to an emblematic character in literature, Bram Stoker's Count Dracula (1897)
| [27] | Stoker, Bram. Dracula (Wordsworth Classics). New ed, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1997. |
[27]
. The "prince” (Verissimo 30)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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, just like Stoker's character, has nocturnal habits, a striking personality; he is intelligent, engaging, insightful, and hardly has his desires denied. The gaze of the “prince” penetrates into one's depths, being the reason why the Stranger always tries to avoid it: "Sooner or later my prince discovers everything. He's got a miraculous eye." (34)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. He is given the sobriquet "master" by the dwarf, in view of his omniscience: “[...] Knows everybody, rich, poor, those in between, whites and blacks and all!"(Verissimo 29). Also, in an allusion to John Milton, in Paradise Lost (1674), "He didn't get ordained because he was expelled. (32, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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His personality is engaging, insightful, and he hardly has his desires denied. Just like the horror movie character, the man with the red carnation has nocturnal habits: “The master just woke up. Sometimes he swaps the day for the night” (33)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. The "master“, as anticipated in the sobriquet, is omniscient, he knows everything and everyone: “God made only one like him, and then broke the mold. Knows everybody, rich, poor, those in between, whites and blacks and all!” (Verissimo 29)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. His clients are prostitutes; pimps; politicians; licentious individuals; and unscrupulous bourgeois: “He's got most of these bourgeois by the short hairs. Knows all their little weak points, and that's why the big shots never deny him anything.” (29)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
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. In an allusion to John Milton, in Paradise Lost (1674), "He didn't get ordained because he was expelled. A wicked injustice. The loser in the end was the Church, because right now he could be a priest of the first rank.” (Verissimo 32, our emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. He is the "lord" of beings who inhabit "hell", of all kinds of people. All these elements bind to the grotesque and direct the narrative into the territory of the profane. The master represents pleasures: success; happiness; popularity (especially among women); cunning; and the dwarf, overeating, and anger. Together, the desires listed connect to five of the seven deadly sins: pride; gluttony "How about that sausage? Wait. Double the order and bring two plates and two knives, forks and spoons; my friend here is going to eat, too” (25)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
; vanity; lust; and anger—Christians' most serious moral faults, which are directly linked to hell and which inflict guilt.
The articulation between the sacred and the profane is exposed at the moment when the master wishes to know the origin of the amnesiac: “Where is our friend from?” (31)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. Getting silence as an answer, he adds: “The man who guards his mouth guards his heart” (31)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
, in reference to The Book of Proverbs, from the Bible: “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity” (Proverbs 21: 23)
| [22] | “Provérbios” [“Proverbs”]. Bíblia Sagrada. Paulus, Edição Pastoral. |
[22]
, and this runs through the entire novella. At a later time, at a wake, the master whispers to the Stranger what the deceased’s life might have been like, a citizen said to be exemplary and God-fearing, alluding to two of the Ten Commandments (you shall not covet your neighbor's wife; you shall not bear false witness) and the Catholic rictus:
He thrust out his underlip to indicate the corpse.
“Just look at that fellow. He was probably a model clerk, a most affectionate father, primus inter pares as a husband. He always voted for the government, never committed adultery, went to Mass every Sunday and wore religious robes in Church processions. He was charitable and very likely did all in his power not to covet his neighbor's wife, never bore false witness against his neighbor. What good was all that to him? He's dead and rotting already.” (Verissimo 57, our emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
At another moment, the master argues ironically there is always the presence of evil in all instances of life, including the Holy Scriptures, that is, evil is always present in human actions:
[...] And since we're talking about the Bible, what a great book! There are some contradictions, of course, and, on the whole, is a biased document. Yes, bias to the side of Good, of the Light. Yet the reader senses the presence of the Shadow and Evil from the first up to the last page. One might even say that, in the Bible, Satan steals the show. (Verissimo 59)
| [29] | Verissimo, Erico. Noite [Night]. Companhia das Letras, 2005. |
[29]
.
In the same way the man in gray projects in the image of the dwarf traits he wants to deny, the embodiment of the “master” brings forward the inscription of the tempter double who, with his subtlety and persuasion, leads his opponent to self-destruction. In the tall man's figure, the (anti)hero pours out his desires, pleasures, and the other negative inclinations of his personality—selfishness; neglect; indifference —which, possibly, leads to the rupture of his marriage and failures in his personal life. Resuming to Tymms, regarding the fact that, allegorically, in the psyche of the subject coexist "the twin faces of its Janus-head” (apud Keppler 188)
| [20] | Keppler, Carl. F. The Literature of the Second Self. The University of Arizona Press, 1972. |
[20]
. Deep within the man in gray, the conscious and the unconscious share the same space; two faces, two shadows. The gasping shadows, the dwarf, and the master are nothing more than the secret world of the man in gray, the other the ego desires and does not have or is, but does not wish to be.
When opening doors that lead to oneself from where addictions and desires swarm, the stealth ubiquity of the double savior or beloved emerges in the opposite projection. This white-faced figure represents a beacon of hope, a refreshment in the shadowy, stuffy, noisy environments where the amnesiac and his demons wander. The narrator names him “man in white”, “man who plays the harmonica” or “the monk”, and he accompanies, at a distance, the footsteps of the Stranger—like a guardian angel, a saint—in another articulation between the sacred, the grotesque, and the profane, whose dichotomy is already noticeable by the garments' color. In this way, the death impulses, the profane, and grotesque ally to the sublime and the sacred, to the life impulses that inhabit the soul of the Stranger, such as well-being, peace, and temperance. It is possible to allude to the man in white—a lonely character, with dark, deep, sweet, and sad eyes—the projection of the self, the true side of the Stranger. The good side of the amnesiac, separated from his evil side, would always be present and, at the merge of the two, the man would become complete. The presence of the monk is an incentive to the Stranger, as a perspective of resuming his life and his marriage.
During the slow return of his memories, the Stranger distances himself from this figure that begins to cause him dislike and discomfort: “It is strange that this vagabond with the look of a saint or prophet should be playing the deserted square at this hour of dawn. Surely he must have slept in the open air; he has no home; he has been abandoned by someone…” (Verissimo 141)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. That is, the closer he gets to reality, the more he notices his life failures, among them, the irrevocable separation. "My home, my wife—Suddenly the happenings of the evening before crowd back into his memory accompanied by a sensation of faintness and nausea." (134)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. The return of his memory is interwoven with retrospectives to childhood experiences and recent events, in a journey into himself, a descent towards the past, to the facts trapped on the threshold of the unconscious, which, little by little, will reveal ancient subterranean.
In this process of self-discovery, it is also necessary to take into account the time double proposed by Tymms (1976)
| [20] | Keppler, Carl. F. The Literature of the Second Self. The University of Arizona Press, 1972. |
[20]
, which consists of being in different spaces simultaneously. The subject transits from past to future or from future to past—which also refers to the spatial double. Regarding space, Bachelard conceptualizes it as "a tool for the analysis of the human soul" (xxxvii)
| [1] | Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. 1994 edition, Beacon Press, 1994. |
[1]
. In this sense, it is possible to glimpse the interaction between space and character. At the end of the narrative, the process of individualization is observed, the man without identity has a house, a wife, and a job. The spaces evoked in the (anti)hero psyche constitute intimate spaces, triggering feelings and memories, such as the “childhood home”, and “the nest”. According to the phenomenologist, the nest is always puerile, it returns to childhood, the enchantment linked to an illusion of safety, “not only do we come back to it, but we dream about coming back to it, the way a bird comes back to its nest." (Bachelard 99)
| [1] | Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. 1994 edition, Beacon Press, 1994. |
[1]
: “He wipes his eyes with his fingertips and resumes his way. He is going home now, yes, but to another house, in another place, in another time. He is quite certain that in that house there are loved ones who are waiting for him with open arms.” (Verissimo 141)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
Bachelard stresses the dream house would be the last residence, well planned, concrete, definitive: “[...] by means of thought and dreams. [...] An entire past comes to dwell in a new house.” (5)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. The man in gray imagines himself entering the house, throwing himself into the arms of his wife, and telling her everything: “I don't know what's happened to me, darling. I only know I've been wandering around lost in the night. For the love of God, don't leave me!” (Verissimo 139-140)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. However, the scholar also states the final house would be the saddest one, for reality pushes the daydreaming away. As all fantasies of the initial house become real, there is no longer any reason to dream (Bachelard, 1964)
| [1] | Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. 1994 edition, Beacon Press, 1994. |
[1]
. The Stranger recalls the moment when, returning from work at dusk, he found the dreamt house empty and a letter on the table: “Back to him comes the clear memory of his own image reflected in the glass: a face in shock, the white paper in his shaking hands [...] His own voice comes back to him like a ghost: "My wife has left me." (Verissimo 134)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
Once the memories begin to emerge, he returns to his childhood, his maternal home, where he lived with his parents and three maternal aunts, who raised him under strict Catholic doctrine. On one occasion, he catches his parents in intimacy and thinks his father is hurting his dear mother, Maria. This experience results in a trauma and his subsequent repression reflected, years later, in his marriage. The childhood events leave an indelible mark on the Stranger's sexual life in such a way it makes him unable to fulfill the marital commitment. When, by any chance, his wife, the other Mary, took the initiative, he would harass her, insult her: “You filthy bitch!” (163, author's highlights)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
, after all, according to the biblical principles preached insistently by his aunts, a woman, a “saint”, should not act that way. The Stranger represses those secrets, defining them as belonging to a dead past: “They are corpses that ought to stay buried and forgotten” (Verissimo 145)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. In trying to repress the memories that haunt him, he generates the doubles: the tempter, in the urge to insult his wife, hurt her, make her pay for all the humiliations; and the pursuer, in the impulses of killing her, killing himself, as a way to end all humiliation and suffering: “Stabbed to death by her husband.” (146)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
As the character exorcises his ghosts, his memory clears, he gains identity and loses the illusion, for he understands the marriage had come to an end and he was to blame. As mentioned earlier, in literature, the completion of the double can also be interpreted as an allegory to the elimination of the past. However, in the novella under study, there was no elimination of the past, only an understanding of it. The Stranger finally recovers his memory, but does not find his identity card, his name and, above all, his self-love.
The double is nothing more than the inner dialogue between the conscious—the persona—and the unconscious—the shadow. Achieving equilibrium is raising the frankness of the persona and dispelling the contents repressed by the shadow. In a society where certain behavior patterns are established, more and more the individual finds themselves sundered between what they are, what they represent and what they do not know about themselves. It is often noticed the man is lost, devoid of autonomy, emerging in an identity crisis when seeking the encounter with oneself, the confrontation with all his secret fears.
5. Polyphony and the "Others” into the Night
The theme of the abandoned husband who reevaluates and tries to rekindle his failed marriage was (and still is) recurring in literature; however, Erico Verissimo seeks to reface this trivial situation with meanings. Thus, in Night, a heterodiegetic narrator casually inserts a character into a gloomy and unknown space. The whole novel is scenographically restricted to the desperate attempt to understand, to make sense of the facts that led him to amnesia. As will be analyzed, a narrative that, in a certain way, can be classified as self-indulgent is chained.
The author-creator—an aesthetically refracted social voice—occupies an axiological position constructed through memories and temporal cuts to cover the hero's journey. Providing its characters with words permeated by ideological threads, contradictory to each other, since they frequent and are established in all areas of relations and social conflicts. In the processes of constructing the narrative, the creator chooses whether to give a voice to the character or speak for them. By giving voice to the characters, the creator allows these voices to intertwine in a distinctly polyphonic dialogue. In the polyphonic novel, “the finalized and integral reality of the hero [transforms] into the material of the hero's own self-consciousness.” (Bakhtin 49)
| [6] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “The Hero, and the Position of the Author With Regard to the Hero, in Dostoevsky’s Art.” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.9 |
[6]
. Therefore, aiming to examine the double from the perspective proposed by Bakhtin, it is necessary to consider who looks and from what place.
In Night, the author-creator very often forces the (anti)hero to look at himself in the mirror and, thus, the artistic view being accessed is that of a character who wants to perceive himself in the reality in which he is inserted. In the very first pages, the (anti)hero looks in the mirror with the judgmental gaze of others, which merges into his own gaze; thus, creating a certain dislike for his face, as if it was an enemy: “He walked on slowly, from time to time babbling, "My God!" finding his own voice strange as he had found his own image strange. He passed other windows and avoided them as if they were fresh enemies." (Verissimo 15)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
When looking in the mirror, the Stranger does not see himself as he really is, but as he believes others see him, because he is “possessed by someone else's soul” (Bakhtin, Aesthetics of Verbal 33)
| [2] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. Aesthetics of Verbal Creativity. 1st ed, Art Publisher, 1979. |
[2]
. For the man in gray, the image that appears in his field of vision frightens him, it becomes axiological to him, becomes an object of reflection, of his self-consciousness. In the act of contemplation the character is never alone, since he wonders the impression he will make on others: "The Other? It was himself. But was he—like that? He rested his forehead on the glass to see his own image more closely." (Verissimo 14, author's highlights)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
In Night, the (anti)hero has a surplus of vision that comes to him by the tense interaction of others' gaze upon him, including when the dwarf portrays him. This surplus is only possible when the self from here interacts with the self from there, giving it conclusion and, later, returning to its original place. However, throughout the narrative this completion is not accomplished. From the place in which he is, the dwarf captures not only the appearance, but also the soul of the amnesiac, “Your eyes interested me. From a distance I couldn't see clear, which is why I didn't finish the picture. Wait, look straight at me. That's it..." (Verissimo 24-25)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The Stranger is conflicted, he does not recognize himself in the drawing, for he does not create a solid and pre-determined image of himself and struggles against images that give him dysphoria. This is due to the fact the (anti)hero has an impression of himself that does not match that of the other. Recognizing himself in the drawing would demand leaving his place and taking the place of the other towards him, even if it was necessary imagining this other in order to do so: “Then he looked down at the portrait, still lying on the table [...] and tried to discover in the sketched eyes the revelation of which the hunchback spoke” (35, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
In this sense, the subject, materialized in the character, always dialogues with the discourse of others, the inner monologues represent the right and wrong sides of the speech, an echoing of intonations, a dialogic relationship in agreement or disagreement. It is only possible to reveal oneself through an inner dialogue, communicating with another participant, at which point the double emerges. For Bakhtin (Problems of Dostoevsky 10)
| [4] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Dostoevsky's Polyphonic Novel and Its Treatment in Critical Literature” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.8 |
[4]
, the double is the I and the thou, inscribed in the consciousness of the anti(hero), and confront each other in the search for identity. This, in turn, is built on the tense relationship with the other: what the hero really is, what he is for himself, and what he is for others.
In the novella under examination, the event on the previous day triggers inner voices which deepen the conflict of the (anti)hero because the image he makes of himself, at the same time, is and is not real. The Stranger comes into conflict with the thou appearing in the speech, for he finds himself at variance with his own self. The thou manifest in the antagonistic characters master and dwarf versus the monk in a threshold dialogue. It can be seen in the Stranger there is a subject divided between what he is—unworthy; insufficient; guilty—and what he wishes to be: articulate; outgoing; skilled libertine; and model husband.
In the aesthetic formal plane, dialogues with himself are displayed with dashes, thus the plot with the doubles develops as a dramatized confession of his self-consciousness. The entire work is built with dialogues between dissonant voices that seem external, but are internal, in a consciousness that has decomposed. To the Stranger's ears, they sound as different voices: his, the others', the tall man's, and the hunchback's. The following examples are in the order stated:
Remorse stung him. He ought not to spend another man's money. It wasn't right. Some day he would have to answer for it. In the first deserted street he was going to get rid of the wallet, throw it into the gutter or down some drain (Verissimo 15-16, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The Stranger was roused from his contemplation by a shout. Seized by a panic fear he broke into a blind run, [...] And the shouts behind him—now they were many—were getting louder and louder, and he thought they were saying: "Grab him! Grab him!. He kept running [...] (13, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
"We've put a great many people on the other side of the border, haven't we, Shorty? (36, emphasis added).
"But don't forget, " threatened the dwarf, "we know your secret. It'll get you nowhere to run away (36, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
While the Stranger is suffering from amnesia, the voice of the (anti)hero can be, especially, confused with those of the characters dwarf and master. The discourse seems to be independent from the discourse of the other, even in the composition in dashes (quotation marks), but it is a monologue about his existence and set of values he built for himself. The characters are the access to his self-consciousness and act as three voices: me to myself, me to others, and others to me:
[In the voice of the dwarf, the me to myself]:
"You're the stupidest dumbbell I ever came across in my life." (Verissimo 37, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
[In the voice of the dwarf, the me to myself and the others to me]:
I detest virginity; maidenly modesty nauseates me; the so-called men of character bore me to death. I'm a sincere fellow, a thing very few can say of themselves (28, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
[In the voice of the master, the me to others]:
“Here is a handsome young man, of good appearance and well dressed, who is found alone in a low café along the docs, with the hunted look of a man pursued. Two gentlemen of good will sit down at his table, offer him their friendship, wish to aid him in his difficulty, and lo and behold, the mysterious person refuses to reveal his identity, alleging that he remembers nothing. In his pocket he carries a well filled wallet—and no one normally carries that much money around with him.” (39-40, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
It should be noted there are not three different conveyers but replicas with the values of the subject who enunciates, that is, through dialogues the hero self-awareness is accessed, given that it is him talking to himself. The voices do not simply penetrate the Stranger's soul, they are the very soul of the anti(hero).
[In the voice of the dwarf]:
[...] And what I like best about this café is the name Sunflower of the Oceans. Makes no sense, does it? It's absurd. Well, that's precisely what gives it its charm. What would life be without the absurd?” (Verissimo 27, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
[In the voice of the master]:
“You think, then, that a god that cannot defend himself and lets himself be crucified can be capable of doing anything for us? Do you believe in all that baseless rumor about heaven and eternity?” (56, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The demons populating the self-consciousness of the protagonist are cunning, they whisper the Stranger's own words in his ears; they tease, interrogate, and joke, in an attempt of recognizing himself guilty, repeating with the same tone ideas most unknown to him:
[...] He put away the wallet and stared at the ground. He must certainly have stolen them. But how could that be? He was no thief. The truth was, those objects didn't belong to him. He was going to pay dear for his crime. Crime? Who's talking about crime? Yes, he might have murdered someone. (Verissimo 8)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
[...] Yes, that was the solution. No! Maybe that was worse. Suppose they arrested him and he couldn't account for the money stolen? "But I didn't steal it!" he shouted. (12)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
According to Bakhtin (2014)
| [5] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Epos e romance: sobre a metodologia do estudo do romance.” Questões de literatura e de estética: a teoria do romance [“Epic and Novel: Toward a Methodology for the Study of the Novel”. Questions of Literature and Aesthetics: Theory of the Novel]. Translated by Aurora Fornoni Bernardini et al. 2nd ed. HUCITEC, 2014. |
[5]
, in the polyphonic novel the characters' planes are connected and reflected in each other. In Night, the words coming out of the doubles' mouth are offensive, because they are his own words uttered by others, in reverse. The very words in the mouth of the dwarf or the master spark hatred or fear: “Surely the hunchback has killed the girl. He had an impulse to leap upon the reptile and crush hit. His hands trembled; the cigarette fell from his mouth. He hated these two monsters!” (Verissimo 48)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. The (anti)hero is aware of the limits of his character, his principles, and of what repulses him; the doubles go beyond such limits. Many voices populate his inner self, there is a voice that tells him truths, other that puts him to the test, and another that calls him to adventure; all trigger the anti(hero) in various tones, in a polyphonic choir:
[...] And as in a nightmare the Stranger could now see the proprietor's head undulating on the air. Yes! All those people in the café were dead and pickled, floating in the acid air, softening, rotting, in an inexorable dissolution (41, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
For some obscure reason the Stranger considered that he ought not to listen to what the other was saying. Yet he merely stood there, not saying a word or making the slightest gesture. And the things that man was insinuating to him were exquisitely seductive and at the same time depraved and repugnant (54, emphasis added)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The dwarf muttered:
"Heaven is here and now. You've got your wallet stuffed full, and the night's hardly started. [...] You see? Your death, too, has begun. Flies have a devilish scent for it. It is well not to waste time." (57)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The same semantic universe, death, dying, is muttered with different ideological meanings, with different tones. Considering the dialogues represent the hero's self-consciousness, the way he interprets the world, there is a veiled controversy, that is whereas manifested in the dwarf and the master. One side of the man in gray reveals his life was like that of the deceased, dead, and therefore he should not miss amusement opportunities. A second one assures him that, having money in his pocket, he should make use of it, because life was short. Another tells him they are all bastards: “He's a bastard,” stated the hunchback, annoyed, spitting on the floor.” (Verissimo 38)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
; “Tommyrot! They're all the same. Bunch of lousy bastards.” (87)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. The word directed towards the other’s speech sets the style and tone, the way of thinking and feeling, and the way he sees and understands himself and the world around him.
When he speaks, the character addresses himself as “you”, denouncing himself, and, then, changes his stance before the interlocutor: he speaks to himself, later on, addresses a chief officer who judges his actions, and, sometimes, questions an imaginary audience.
"You killed your wife."[...] But through his fog and mist he could visualize a man kneeling among some trees, digging in the ground. Holy Heaven! Had he, perhaps, buried the knife in the park?
The master seemed to lose patience.
"Confess and get it over. Why did you kill your wife? Jealousy? Did you find her in bed with another man? Eh? Eh?” (Verissimo 62)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
All this may be nothing but a dream, and nobody ever calls us to account for what we do in dreams.[...] What can it be that prevents him from lying down again? (136-137)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
It is worth remembering that, according to Voloshinov (93)
| [32] | Volóchinov, Valentin (Círculo de Bakhtin). "Marxismo e filosofia da linguagem: problemas fundamentais do método sociológico na ciência da linguagem.” [(Bakhtin Circle) “Marxism and the Philosophy of Language: Fundamental Problems of the Sociological Method in the Science of Language”]. Editora 34, 2017. |
[32]
, the individual always reflects on and reassesses everything they live, assimilating truths through a filter, in responsiveness, and acting according to the set of values established throughout their existence. As the individual matures, this picture grows increasingly complex, whether from an aesthetic, ethical, moral or religious point of view. The external world and its customs help develop the self-consciousness that lives off its unfinished, in the making, character. In this sense, the anti(hero) set of values was erected on strict religious and moral grounds: “On Sunday mornings it is his habit to walk to Mass.” (Verissimo 138)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. However, in the society portrayed in Night, the established sexist ethos is that of the socially and sexually successful man. Thus, moral and religious principles do not allow the amnesiac to give in to lascivious pleasures, considered sinful, resulting in a feeling of guilt. The social pressure that men must be voluptuous, womanizers, allied to his impotence result in a sense of failure, discomfort, embarrassment, and disorientation. The Stranger represses the desires related to pleasure, to life impulses: “He stretched out on the bed, folded his arms, and for several seconds lay surrendering to the vague but disturbing impression that he was doing something prohibited, illicit, sinful.” (Verissimo 154, author's highlights, our bold emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
. Consciousness becomes a struggle between socially accepted ideas—in which the character believes—and ideas that are not allowed; so there is a clash between points of view, of judgments; the controversy is, thus, unveiled. The moral foundations of the Stranger differ from those of others, the dwarf, the tall man, and himself. In a way, the anti(hero) seeks answers to his questions and insecurities in the universe of the grotesque and the profane, which clashes with the sacred universe experienced during his life. The Stranger cannot help but be what he is, hence the replication in specters.
As he regains his memory, the tall man and the dwarf disappear, we notice the coexistence of voices of the others, himself, and the narrator, several speeches in a single enunciator. This internal controversy is aesthetically revealed by means of free indirect speech, which allows identifying two distinct voices in the same words. The line between thoughts of the main character and what is uttered by the narrator and other characters is fine. The words are bivocal, the discussion echoes in each one: it is not known whether the other characters are addressing the anti(hero), the narrator is addressing the reader, or if it is the anti(hero) who is addressing the reader. Furthermore, the narrator gives the impression the Stranger is an untrustworthy character, both when exposing his memories and when presenting his version of the facts, justifying himself at all times, and always self-centered. Of the many places in which he finds himself, the self-indulgent (anti)hero finds justifications and exemptions for himself. There is a tone of self-pity and assent regarding the facts:
[...] all these were voices crying out, trying to tell him something he could not understand. Why were they speaking in riddles? Why couldn't they say it clearly, plainly? (Verissimo 126)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
I've been drugged, stripped, and brought here. Some plot of my enemies, men who want to compromise me, demoralize and destroy me. (133)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
His own voice comes back to him like a ghost: "My wife has left me." He said the words as if he were communicating the terrible news to himself. (134)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
One of the stylistic resources is evasion, which, according to Bakhtin (Problems of Dostoevsky)
| [3] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Discourse in Dostoevsky.” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.12 |
[3]
, consists of leaving the hero ambiguous to himself. Evasion distorts the perception of oneself, they do not know if it is their own opinion, in repentance, or the opinion of the other that absolves them. The amnesiac condemns himself to trigger the acknowledgement of the other.
His heart was beating irregularly; his head was throbbing with pain; but he felt that he deserved all this. He was a criminal. He ought to be punished. (Verissimo 118)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
If she has come back, oh, my God, if she has come back I promise that henceforth all is going to be different. Now I know. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I promise. I swear it. By all that is most sacred. I swear it. I swear it. I swear it. (165)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
In another passage, the character concludes his wife was to blame for his actions and the narrator shows exactly the opposite, that the anti(hero) is a subject just like the doubles that arose: despicable, cruel, and selfish. His repressed desires, the need to be more outgoing; admired; desired; seductive—his demons—came to the fore. As he regains his memory, the dwarf and the master disappear and settle, once and for all, in the the Stranger inner self.
He face was glowing with excitement, her eyes shining ("A bitch in heat," whispered the three black-clad aunts who kept vigilant watch over her from some remote corner of the past). [...] Unbearable! She was trying to humiliate him. Impossible that the others had not already seen that she paid not the slightest heed to her husband. (Verissimo 161-162, author's highlights, our bold emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
His desire had stirred to life also, but now the part of his body that remained cold and as though anesthetized was his brain. He felt an unconquerable, overwhelming necessity to insult her, wound her, make her pay for all the humiliation he had suffered that evening. [...] She's been aroused by the others, by all those men, he thought. Suddenly he seized her brutally by the shoulders and with a shove thrust her back upon the bed, yelling, "You filthy bitch!". (Verissimo 163, author's highlights, our bold emphasis)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
In the episode that triggers the conflict, we notice the voices of the aunts, the others, himself, and the narrator; several speeches in a single enunciator. His reality in others' mouths penetrates the unfinished and irresolute soul of Stranger. The controversy is not directed tp anyone but him.
In a soliloquy, the character feels guilty due to acquired principles, truths that have been shaped based on other truths. When he humiliates his wife, he should answer for that act, have an active responsive attitude and, to this end, (re)evaluate himself. The (anti)hero comes to the terrible truth by himself, through his self-consciousness: by demeaning his wife, he was covered in blood, he had symbolically murdered her, and was truly "a bastard". Within him, the speech about the world merges with the self-confessional speech, causing the regret represented in the harmonica man, whose presence lingers until the end:
His wife's gentle, hurt weeping reached his ears. He had hurt her deeply—body and spirit. He was a beast. A horse! (Verissimo 156, author's highlights)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The little tune seems to be telling him a story, to be telling him something which he struggles to understand, as if an invisible friend were speaking low to him in a remote and nearly forgotten tongue. (140)
| [30] | Verissimo, Erico. Night. 1954. Translated by L. L. Barrett. Arco Publishers Limited, 1956. |
[30]
.
The individual spends his life on the edge of big decisions, in the face of crisis and twists of his life on the threshold. The characters are symbols of a possible vital solution to his personal dilemmas, to the ideological problems plaguing him. At the end of the narrative, the hero finds the solution to the questions he asks at the beginning: "Who am I? Where? What's happened to me?". A voice finds its own voice, guides itself in relation to others and opposes them to separate them from its own voice, revealing itself among other speeches: they become, in great tenseness, reciprocally permeable (Bakhtin 239)
| [3] | Bakhtin, Mikhail. “Discourse in Dostoevsky.” Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics: Theory and History of Literature, First edition, vol. 8, University Of Minnesota Press, 1984. https://doi.org/10.5749/j.ctt22727z1.12 |
[3]
. The (anti)hero in Night is not a speech about himself, but a speech about the world.
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