Adonias Filho, the landscape as locus horribilis

Abstract

This paper analyzes part of the work of Adonias Filho from the perspective of landscape. The adoniana narrative employs the landscape as a locus horribilis, where nature assaults and torments the characters, reflecting their brutality and despair. Through novels such as Os Servos da Morte, Corpo Vivo, and Memórias de Lázaro, the landscape ceases to be a mere setting and becomes an additional character that shapes the characters' destinies. In Os Servos da Morte, the environment reflects the violence and alienation of the Duarte family, while in Memórias de Lázaro, the valley represents a prison, both physical and existential. In Corpo Vivo, the landscape acts as a refuge and protection for Cajango, a character who seeks revenge after the massacre of his family. Adonias Filho breaks with the stylistics of his time, exploring the Atlantic forest as a space filled with tragic symbolism and sublimity, combining classical tradition with innovative narrative techniques. In his work, the grapiúna landscape is more than a mere setting; it is an entity that welcomes and expels, bearing witness to the human conflict with nature and their own darkest passions.