A imagem preponderante que se
cristalizou de Júlio Ribeiro foi a de
autor de um romance considerado
obsceno — A carne (1888) —, elaborada
por seus coetâneos e perpetuada
na memória histórica. Esse estigma
não se restringe ao conteúdo da obra,
mas se associa também ao horizonte
de leituras (como o escritor foi lido e
avaliado) bem como à maneira pela
qual sua obra foi transmitida. Nesse
sentido, este artigo objetiva enfocar
as leituras a respeito do romance A
carne como um campo que outorga os
signifi cados, sejam da infâmia, sejam
da fama, que acompanham o nome do
autor. Para tanto, serão examinadas
a leitura feita pela crÃtica literária e a
recepção do “grande públicoâ€, como
instâncias contrastantes e concorrentes
na configuração da imagem de
Júlio Ribeiro.
The prevalent picture which has been consolidated
about Júlio Ribeiro was that of
the author of an obscene novel — A carne
(The fl esh), published in 1888. This opinion
was made up by some of his contemporaries
and was perpetuated by historical memory.
Moreover, it was not limited to the novel’s
content; on the contrary, it extended itself to
the reading horizons, i. e., the ways the author
has been read, evaluated and come down to
us by tradition. This paper aims to focus on
the ways A carne was read and to consider
these readings as a sphere which endows the
novelist’s name with meanings which can be
either favoring or infamous. So as to reach
our goals, we will analyze how the literary
criticism evaluated the mentioned novel,
as well as the way the massive audiences
read it and understood it. These diff erent
points of view will be taken as contestant
and contrasting elements in the process of
establishing opinions about Júlio Ribeiro.
