Memória inconsolável, narrativa como sepultura: trabalhos de luto em Elena de Petra Costa e K. Relato de uma busca de Bernardo Kucinski

Abstract

Based on comparative studies, this work examines contemporary Brazilian works Elena (2012) by Petra Costa and K. - relato de uma busca (2011) by Bernardo Kucinski. The first one is a movie in which the director tells about the older sister who committed suicide in New York City. The second one is a novel in which the author builds a polyphonic narrative in order to talk about a father in search for his daughter, who disappeared during the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship. Both works start from the familiar experience of their authors, Costa and Kucinski lost their sisters in tragic situations. That is why Petra refers to her sister as her inconsolable memory, because the pain of loss resists over the years. Even though this expression does not appear in Bernardo Kucinski, it can also relates to him, since there is still no solution to Ana Rosa’s disappearance. Considering these aspects, this research examines the issue of mourning, the importance of narrating in this process and the strategies for the reconstruction of the body and memory of the dead. It also discusses the possibility of these narratives work as tombstones, graves that preserve these memories, guaranteeing a memorial space for the deceased sisters. For this, I base the theoretical discussion mainly on Freud, Agamben, Butler, Benjamin, Gagnebin, Kehl, Barthes, among other artists and researchers.