Skepticism and humanism in Forster's treatment of personal relations

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 1981

A word about Charlotte Brontë and her critics

Trata-se de apresentar alguns comentários sobre a influência exercida por críticos e resenhistas de escritores vivos sobre o processo de elaboração desses autores. A partir de algumas considerações sobre o papel e a função do crítico literário, são narrados alguns aspectos da relação entre a escritora vitoriana Charlotte Brontê com seus críticos e editores

Life force and death force in Lawrence's sons and lovers

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A dynamic model for age-specific fertility rates in Italy

Fertility evolution in Italy has shown a deep drop in 1995, and up to now the fertility rate is considered among the lowest in the world. The empirical distribution of the age-specific fertility rates is characterized by a decreasing tendency of the maximum fertility rate and a simultaneous increase of the corresponding mother’s age. This tendency has been stimulating recent contributions in modelling and forecasting. The aim of this paper is to propose a dynamic model for describing and predicting the evolution of the Italian age-specific fertility rates over time. In particular, a well-documented model, such as a Gamma function, slightly modified in order to include time-varying stochastic parameters, is used to describe the systematic and macroscopic variations of the age-specific fertility rates over time, while a nonparametric geostatistical model is applied to describe the correlated residuals at microscopic level. Finally, predictions for the variable under study are provided and main empirical evidences of the temporal evolution for different mother’s ages are discussed

There and back again : Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in the modern fiction

This paper aims to disclose some relevant aspects of one of the most celebrated Fantasy authors – J. R. R. Tolkien. The twentieth century witnesses a huge claim for Fantasy in the arts and media vehicles. This can be seen as a way to escape from a fragmented world made worse by two World Wars that brought desolation and lack of faith in spiritual values to the modern and contemporary society. Rather than addressing Tolkien’s fiction as an escapist device, we argue that it can be read as a strong metaphor of his own time instead, alluding to the horrors of the wars that have been experienced by the author.O presente ensaio objetiva apontar alguns aspectos relevantes de um dos mais celebrados autores do gênero Fantasia – J. R. R. Tolkien. O século XX testemunhou uma grande retomada da Fantasia nas artes e nos meios midiáticos, o que poderia ser encarado como uma fuga de um mundo ferido após duas Guerras Mundiais que trouxeram desolação e ausência de fé e de valores espirituais para as sociedades moderna e contemporânea. Ao invés de perceber a obra de Tolkien como um paliativo escapista, propomos que ela possa ser lida como uma poderosa metáfora de seu tempo, aludindo aos horrores de uma guerra que foi experenciada pelo próprio autor

A filosofia do mal : considerações sobre por que gostamos dos vilões shakespearianos

Este artigo analisa o mal enquanto uma presença constante expressa através de certos personagens na dramaturgia Shakespeariana. Baseando esta pesquisa em conceitos freudianos, procuramos verificar por que leitores e espectadores contemporâneos se identificam e até mesmo simpatizam com vilões como Iago, Ricardo III e Lady Macbeth. Oscilando entre filosofia, linguística e teoria psicanalítica, buscamos compreender o fenômeno do mal na época de Shakespeare e atualmente, e como ele se relaciona com os meandros mais íntimos de nossas mentes e com a maneira como vemos e compreendemos o mundo.This article analyzes evil as a constant presence expressed through certain characters in Shakespeare's dramaturgy. Basing the research on Freudian concepts, we seek to answer why contemporary readers and audiences identify with and even have sympathy for villains like Iago, Richard III and Lady Macbeth. Oscillating between philosophy, linguistics and psychoanalytical theory, we seek to understand the phenomenon of evil in Shakespeare's time and nowadays, and how it relates with the innermost meanders of our minds and the way we see and understand the world

The interfaces between autobiography and painting in cat’s eye, by Margaret Atwood / As interfaces entre autobiografia e pintura a olho de gato, de Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood's Cat’s Eye (1988) features the fictional autobiography of Elaine Risley, influential Canadian artist. The painter, upon returning to her hometown, Toronto, for a retrospective exhibition of her work, critically rethinks her life and, in particular, her relationship with her three childhood best friends: Carol, Grace and Cordelia. Throughout the narrative, we follow Risley's artistic and personal development, who, through her first-person account and her paintings — placed for the reader through epigrammatic descriptions — exposes her trajectory as a woman, artist and mother in the 60s. Hite (1995) comments on the relationship between the facts narrated by Risley and her artistic production, explaining the common point between them: neither art nor personal experience can be separated from the dynamics of power, which constitute reality. Thus, in Cat's Eye, both the autobiographical account and Risley's paintings are relevant not only for the presentation of the events experienced by the protagonist, but also for their assimilation and problematization. Bearing in mind the connection between the two means — narrative and painting — this work aims to analyze the links between them in the novel. To this end, the connections between the chapters and Risley's paintings — who name them — will be explored, as well as the presentation and composition of works during the narrative and, when necessary, their relation with other paintings and referenced artists. As theoretical support, I employ authors who work on Cat's Eye’s relationship with art/painting, as well as the relationship between autobiography and art: Banerjee (1990), De Jong (1998), Hite (1995), Howarth (1974) and Vickroy (2005). The expected contributions are the discussion about the interfaces between narrative and painting, as well as their meanings inside and outside Cat’s Eye.  

THE PHILOSOPHY OF EVIL: CONSIDERATIONS ON WHY WE LOVE SHAKESPEAREAN VILLAINS

Este artigo analisa o mal enquanto uma presença constante expressa através de certos personagens na dramaturgia Shakespeariana. Baseando esta pesquisa em autores como Freud, Maus e Charney, procuramos verificar por que leitores e espectadores contemporâneos se identificam e até mesmo simpatizam com vilões como Iago, Ricardo III e Lady Macbeth. Oscilando entre filosofia, linguística e teoria psicanalítica, buscamos compreender o fenômeno do mal na época de Shakespeare e atualmente, e como ele se relaciona com os meandros mais íntimos de nossas mentes e com a maneira como vemos e compreendemos o mundo.

"Different though the sexes are, they intermix" : oscilações de gênero em Orlando : a biography de Virginia Woolf

The following article discusses how gender shifts are portrayed in the novel Orlando: A Biography (1928), by Virginia Woolf. Since the beginning of the novel, Orlando is presented as a very talented, unique creature, with a great aptitude for writing. Also, Orlando is depicted as an adaptable person, who shifts his behavior according to what is expected from him in different situations. Besides, Orlando goes through sex change in the middle of the story. Accepting the fantastic happenings of the narrative as real, this work investigates which impact this transformation has in Orlando’s life. Examining the sex change and also the gender shifts the protagonist undergoes through ideas presented by Judith Butler in Gender Trouble (1990) and by Sandra Bem in the essays “Sex Typing and Androgyny: Further Explorations of the Expressive Domain” and “Sex Role Adaptability: The Consequence of Psychological Androgyny”, this research has identified that Orlando does not restrain theirself to only one gender, but waves through different genders. Thus, adapting themself to what is required in each situation.O seguinte artigo discute como as mudanças de gênero são representadas na obra Orlando: uma biografia (1928), de Virginia Woolf. Orlando é apresentado, desde o início da obra, como um ser criativo e singular, que possui grande aptidão para a escrita. Também é descrito como sendo uma pessoa capaz de ajustar seu comportamento a fim de se adaptar ao que é esperado dele em diferentes situações. Além disso, Orlando passa por uma mudança de sexo no meio da história. Aceitando esse acontecimento fantástico sem maiores questionamentos, a presente pesquisa investiga o impacto dessa transformação na vida de Orlando. Examinando a mudança de sexo e também as mudanças de gênero através das ideias apresentadas por Judith Butler em Gender Trouble (1990) e Sandra Bem nos ensaios “Sex Typing and Androgyny: Further Explorations of the Expressive Domain” e “Sex Role Adaptability: The Consequence of Psychological Androgyny”, esta pesquisa identificou que Orlando não se restringe a apenas um único gênero, mas oscila entre diferentes gêneros. Deste modo, adaptase de acordo com a situação no qual se encontra

Multilevel modeling for investigating the probability of digital innovation in museums

Museums represent a fundamental asset for the Italian cultural and social background, and the use of digital technologies can be considered as a keystone for their attractiveness. Thus, assessing the specific determinants which stimulate to invest in new digital solutions and to provide a competitive museum offer is of crucial interest. For this reason, a performing multilevel approach for modeling the probability of including digital innovations in museums will be discussed and different modeling options will be compared. In particular, the imple- mentation of a multilevel binary logit model will be useful to detect the factors of adopting at least basic digital tools. Then, the development of an innovative and flexible multilevel multinomial ordered model will be suitable to further investigate on the probability for the museums to move towards medium/low or high levels of digitalization, on the basis of an increasing sorting criterion. This will be realized by considering the variation of such proba- bility both at regional and provincial levels for some key specific museums features, as well as by including some regional/provincial contextual factors