From the real to the supernatural: the fantastic in the Incidente em Antares book by Érico Verissimo

Abstract

This article proposes to reflect about the influence of the Fantastic Realism in Érico Verissimo's Incidente em Antares. To this end, the two necessary conditions are considered, according to TODOROV (1975), for the existence of the fantastic: first, the text must lead the reader to consider the world of characters as a world of living creatures and to hesitate between a natural explanation and a supernatural explanation of the fact; Second, the reader's hesitation must be identified with a particular character, so that the reader's perception is inscribed in the text as precisely as the character's movements are. The fantastic, in Verissimo's narrative, becomes relevant due to the historical context, its characteristics and its purpose. The fantastic is born in this uncertainty: to choose one or the other answer to the events narrated. This paper aims to present the origin of Fantastic Realism and its contributions in the work, identify its structure, in order to prove the relevance of the historical period for the establishment, given that it is established as a result of dictatorial periods,merging the real and the imaginary.