Criadores e criaturas: uma narrativa gráfica do monstruoso desvelada pelo imaginário

Abstract

This doctoral thesis “Creators and Creatures: a graphic narrative of the monstrous unveiled by the imagination'' was developed in the Written Culture, Languages and Learning research line, together with the Study and Research Group “Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa sobre Imaginário, Educação e Memória” (GEPIEM). The investigation presents a study of the creators Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) and Mary Shelley (1797-1851) and their creatures, in the works: Lenore (1842), The Crow (1845) and Frankenstein (1818). The study sought to reveal the resonances and projections that are established between these creators (authors) and their characters, here called creatures. The problematization starts from the following research question: How is the creator present in the creatures' narratives? This journey towards the imagination of the monstrous, has its structure inspired by Joseph Campbell (2007), regarding the stages of the Hero's Journey. Along the journey I counted on Durand, Bachelard and Silva who acted as mentors, initiated me in the studies of the imaginary and provided the theoretical-methodological concepts that allowed me to unravel the enigma. The investigation was built as a graphic narrative, complemented by reflections, in order to expand the meanings and interpretations. The route, which I called the researcher's journey, was made up of four portals. The adventure was guided by the following objectives: a) problematize the monster theme, in light of the etymology of imaginary studies; b) revisiting the two selected poems by Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley, searching for the relationship between creator and creature and possible autobiographical motivations and c) building a graphic narrative to amplify the senses of the monstrous and its connections with the transcendental fantastic of the imaginary . The four portals were traversed involving discoveries and findings that acted as keys, allowing to advance in the trajectory, seeking to deepen and broaden the research problem, especially about the fantastic poetry of the creators, in which I found motivations and projections that affect each other . The life stories of the creators contemplate passages, losses and sufferings that were reflected on the creatures, through poetics. Through the graphic narrative I present the creative process, the connections and approaches that I established between creators and creatures. The research findings confirm the thesis' assumption: the monster is a transfiguration of occurrences in the creators' life stories.