Modern Language Studies

Maxims in "Grande Sertão: Veredas"Author(s): Thomas J. BragaReviewed work(s):Source: Modern Language Studies, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Summer, 1992), pp. 76-83Published by: Modern Language StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3195221 .Accessed: 27/04/2012 14:16

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Maxims in Grande Sertio: Veredas

Thomas J. Braga

When the history of twentieth-century Brazilian literature is written in the next century, Joao Guimaraes Rosa's Grande Sertio: Veredas will undoubtedly emerge as the single most important work of fiction of the period. Vast and varied have been the numerous critical works devoted to this major author who has already been proclaimed the equal of Machado de Assis. Curiously enough, however, relatively little attention has been accorded the didactic aspect of the novel in general and its maxims in particular. Yet the narrator Riobaldo makes a point quite early in the narrative of underscoring his interest in litera- ture of moral instruction:

Em tanto, ponho primazia e na leitura proveitosa, vida de santo, virtudes e exemplos-missiondrio esperto engambelando os indios, ou Sao Francisco de Assis, Santo Ant6nio, Sao Geraldo ... Eu gosto muito de moral. Raciocinar, exortar os outros para o bom caminho, aconselhar a justo. (14)

Indeed, a close reading of the work reveals more than four hundred (400)1 statements that could be qualified in varying degrees as either maxims in the conventional sense of the word meaning "a concise formulation of a fundamental principle or rule of conduct," or in an ex- tended interpretation meaning moralizing in tone or perspective. Without pretending to exhaust the subject, it is the purpose of this brief essay to fill a real lacuna in Rosian studies by concentrating on those maxims that deal with the four most frequently cited themes, namely (1) the sertdo and the jagunqo, (2) life and death, (3) God and the devil, and (4) love and friendship. On another level, carefully interwoven into the text, the maxims serve five (5) important functions that give the narrative its structural and thematic unity. Firstly, by their sheer frequency, the maxims establish textual coordinates by focusing attention on the four major themes in an otherwise illusive, ambiguous and elliptical novel. Even for Brazilian readers, Grande Sertdo: Veredas presents problems of interpretation because of its convoluted syntax and style. Riobaldo is clearly aware that his reader-interlocutor may not fully understand what he has to say. "Falo por palavras tortas" (457). But the maxims are very often couched in a more succinct, simpler, and easily accessible language, even when they imply the unintelligible: "Mas a vida nao 6 entendivel" (131). Equally important, the maxims play a role of prime importance in identifying for the reader the thread, the fil conducteur of the work, namely that life is a dangerous business: "Viver 6 neg6cio muito perigoso" (10). Secondly, the aural presence of the silent interlocutor, Doutor, is suggested by the fact that Riobaldo tries to elicit a reassuring response by phrasing his maxims very often in the form of a question and thereby

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attempting to reaffirm his analysis of what has taken place: "A gente vive nao 6 caminhando de costas?" (522). In other situations, he contrasts his opinions with those of his friend Quelem6m. This technique is further reinforced by such expressions as "O senhor aprova?" (10) or "Senhor o que acha?" (12). Thirdly, and most importantly, the maxims represent a rich and varied compendium of sertanejo folklore and wisdom by treating a great variety of subjects which give the narrative both its local color as well as its broad universal appeal. Fourthly, structurally the maxims appear as reference points in the work to immobilize the plot in the eternal present while alluding to the past and future. Maxims by their very nature are universally true, therefore, they are outside the temporal distance of the plot: "No real da vida, as coisas acabam com menos formato, nem acabam" (79). Fifthly, Guimaraes Rosa effectively uses maxims in a creative use of language, "de ir ate' o rabo da palavra" to convey more than the verbal reality. As Jos6 Carlos Garbuglio affirms: "O mundo 6 a palavra" (46). Rosa synthesizes and extrapolates experi- ence to create another dimension, a verbal mythos in the existential dilemma of being, not unlike the other great myth maker of Latin- American literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Riobaldo invents because "A vida inventa! ... porque a vida 6 mutirdo de todos, por todos remexida e temperada" (430).

Riobaldo as narrator is on a difficult moral quest: "Contar e6 muito, muito dificultoso" (712). He is attempting to unravel the mystery of his experiences among the iagunqos in general and his personal moral dilemma, specifically whether the devil exists and if so whether he has signed a pact with him. Consequently, his desire to know is a desire to distinguish absolutes, absolute right from absolute wrong, and the certain from the uncertain. All the other themes directly or indirectly hinge upon this differentiation. It is not therefore surprising that a goodly number of maxims, some fifty (50), are devoted to the sertio and the iagunqo, for the sertdo represents the allegorical backdrop where this conflict takes place. But the sertdo as physical place cannot be circumscribed: "Sertao 6 sem lugar" (331). "O sertdo 6 do tamanho do mundo" (68). It has neither entrance nor exit-"O sertao nao tem janelas nem portas" (462)-because basically the sertdo is within man's psyche, a mind-set: "Sertao 6 dentro da gente" (289). The most typical characteristic of the sertio as a view of life is both its illusive nature and its inherent contradiction: "Sertio 6 isto, o senhor sabe: tudo incerto, tudo certo" (146). "O sertao 6 confusio em grande demasiado sossego" (423). Very often Riobaldo reverts to personification in order to give a familiar fixed form and projection to that which is basically amorphous: "Sertio nao 6 malino nem caridoso ... ele tira ou da, ou agrada ou amarga, ao senhor, conforme o senhor mesmo" (487). The sertdo surrounds and challenges man: "Sert'o 6 isto: o senhor empurra para tr's, mas de repente ele volta a rodear o senhor de lados" (267). The sertdo is in perpetual agitation because war is constantly reshaping its violent contortions: "A guerra era o constante mexer do sertdo, e como com o vento da seca 6 que as arvores se entortam mais" (337). In fact, very often in the maxims the sertio is compared to the armaments of war and violence-"O grande sertio 6

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a forte arma, Deus 6 um gatilho" (320)--because it is associated with the social outcast, the criminal: "Sertio 6 o penal, criminal. Sertao 6 onde homem tem de ter a dura nuca e mao quadrada" (102). Illusion and contradiction, beneficence and destruction, all are reduced to one nebulous confusion, for the sertdio generally ignores the welfare of man and recognizes no absolutes other than itself: "O sertao se sabe s6 por alto. Mas, ou ele ajuda, com enorme poder, ou 6 traigoeiro muito de- sastroso" (497).

It is the jagunqo himself who best incarnates the enigmatic sertdio- "Jagungo 6 o sertao" (291)-for he has subsumed the ruggedness of the locale by his survival mentality: "Sertao 6 onde o pensamento da gente se forma mais forte do que o poder do lugar" (24). His activities are antithetical to the constraints of society, and he exercises free will by simply being what he is, an outlaw: "Ningu6m nunca foi jagungo obrigado" (538). The jagunqo needs conflict, challenge and physical hardship to define himself in opposition to the norms of social behavior: "Que jagungo amolece quando nao padece" (274). His happiness lies in constant turmoil, violent movement on horseback: "Alegria do jagungo 6 o movimento galopado" (526). In many ways, the Jagunqo is a stoic for whom good and evil, right and wrong, are all reduced to an amoral neutral stance-"Jagungo, pelo que 6, quase que nunca pensa em reto" (257)-because "Jagungo nao se escabreia com perda nem derrota- quase que tudo para ele 6 igual" (52). Unlike the narrator who is desperately trying to sort out the "why" and "wherefore" of his life, the jagunqo does not reason why, he simply accepts the given as is: "Nao podendo entender a razao da vida, 6 s6 assim que se pode ser vero bom jagungo" (533). But like the narrator, the jagunqo is in the temporal in a solitary wait: "O sertao 6 uma espera enorme" (538). "Sertio 6 o sozinho" (289). The jagunqo-sertdio bond encompasses all that is: "O sertao tudo nao aceita?" (455). In contrast, Riobaldo by his rationalizing is the odd man out in this jagunqo-sertiio setting for he is trying to make sense out of, draw a conclusion from and pronounce a final judgment on what he has seen, yet the reader is reminded that "Quem julga, ji morreu" (251).

An equal number of maxims, no fewer than forty-eight (48), are devoted to the life-death cycle but with reference to the nexus sertdio- jagungo. Riobaldo is seeking a philosophy of life and a classical modus vivendi: "Aprender-a-viver 6 que 6 o viver, mesmo" (546). Curiously enough all the characteristics evident in the maxims treating the sertido and the jagunqo are also present in those maxims addressing the question of life and death in general. Life is illusory-"A gente vive 6 mesmo para se desiludir e desmisturar" (137)-but is ungovernable because of constant change and an innate feeling that it really does not belong to us: "A vida da gente faz sete voltas se diz. A vida nem 6 da gente" (145). Of all the sensations associated with life, sight and speech are especially singled out for comment: "Pouco se vive e muito se va" (429). Death on the other hand is realistically identified with the olfactory sensation: "A tudo, o cheiro de morte velha. O mau-fetido que vai terminar mazelando a gente" (330). But life is also a song and speech is its lyrical manifes- tation-"Tudo, nesta vida 6 muito cantivel" (455)-caught in the

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cacaphony of constant change and turmoil" "A vida 6 um vago variado" (467). Silence by contrast is associated with death: "Ficar calado 6 que 6 falar nos mortos" (43). Hope and despair are at a continual tug-of-war: "A vida 6 ingrata no macio de si; mas transtraz a esperanqa mesmo do meio do fel do desespero" (207). Life frequently resembles the devil more than it does God: "A vida 6 muito discordada. Tem partes, tem artes. Tem as neblinas de Siruiz. Tem as caras todas do Cao, e as vertentes do viver" (471). Life is the temporal that cannot be delayed-"A vida nao di demora em nada" (223)-because it has been preordained: "Antes de menino nascer, hora de sua morte esti marcada" (473). There are three things that life demands of us-courage, inquisitiveness, and goals: "O correr da vida embrulha tudo, a vida e6 assim: esquenta e esfria, aperta e dai afrouxa, sossega e depois desinquieta. O que ela quer da gente 6 coragem" (297). What life teaches us if anything is to pose further questions: "Vivendo, se aprende, mas o que se aprende, mais 6 s6 a fazer outras maiores perguntas" (385-386). Being ethical is not as difficult as determining one's goals in life: "O mais dificil nao 6 um ser bom e proceder honesto; dificultoso, mesmo, 6 um saber definido o que quer, e ter o poder de ir at6 no rabo da palavra" (162-163).

Contrary to life, death presents less imperatives for it is always concealed by our preoccupations with the living and the minutiae of daily life: "Com os vivos 6 que a gente esconde os mortos" (339). Nor does it involve a struggle; it gives itself up naturally: "Morrer, morrer, a gente sem luxo se cede" (141). It is the instantaneous without forewarning or fright: "Um homem morre mais que vive, sem susto de instantaneamente" (543). Thus the jagunqo by his taciturnity is more associated with death than with life itself: "Quem vai morrer e matar, pode ter conversa?" (190). Ironically, just as the sertdo reverses the natural order of things, so does death reveal contrarily the intervention of God: "A morte 6 o sobrevir de Deus, entornadamente" (305). All talk of death is by the living about misfortune that is always past: "A morte 6 corisco que sempre ja veio" (200). "A morte 6 para os que morrem" (223). Life like war is the given that needs no further explanation: "Vida, e guerra, 6 o que 6" (214).

Without going so far as Paulo Hecker Filho who considers Grande Sertdo: Veredas the "Fausto sertanejo" of Brazilian literature (5), it could be easily argued that Riobaldo's moral quest lyrically addresses the key issue of the devil's existence and his personal relationship with him in the form of a pact in general and his pursuit of the enemy Herm6genes in particular, the latter who ultimately will cause the death of the beloved Reinaldo-Diadorim. The epigraph "O diabo na rua no meio do redemoinho" repeated in the text of the narrative clearly focuses on the demonic intercession of what transpires and forms a second fil con- ducteur in the work. No fewer than thirty-seven (37) maxims allude to either the devil or God, or both. The ethical question invariably leads to an ontological and theological dilemma; if the devil exists, God exists. In a seeming contradiction, Riobaldo transposes the terms to suggest a playful twist on the subject; God exists but the devil transcends existence: "Deus existe mesmo quando n-o hI. Mas o dem6nio n-o precisa de existir para haver-a gente sabendo que ele nio existe, ai 6 que ele toma conta

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de tudo" (56). What Riobaldo is really seeking is consent, permission, the right to possess and to be what he is: "Se nao tem Deus, entdo, a gente nao tem licenga de coisa nenhuma" (56). Thus the narrator plays a cat- and-mouse game with the reader-interlocutor2 concerning existence and non-existence, the very same game that God seems to play with his creatures and the devil: "E preciso de Deus existir a gente, mais 6 do diabo divertir a gente com sua dele nenhuma existencia" (292). Riobaldo who by temperament clearly leans towards God's existence, posits, however, a middle ground in an attempt to place himself outside the ontological-theological dilemma: "Nao sou do demo e nao sou de Deus" (461). Throughout the maxims God and the devil, absolute good and its contrary absolute evil are depicted in anthropomorphic terms and metaphorical imagery. The devil manifests himself mostly through very descriptive harsh emotional attitudes and in the form of Herm6genes's rugged projection while God's presence is evidenced by genteel emotional states more akin to Diadorim's mannerisms. The demonic is physical prowess, the God-like affective and angelic. Just as the jagungo incarnates all the characteristics of the sertdio, he also visually and physically reflects the devil's harshness by his brute force and domination: "Quem vence, 6 custoso nao ficar com a cara de dem6nio" (333). But very often while the devil is brutal, God can betray: "O diabo, 6 as brutas; mas Deus 6 traigoeiro!" (22). Of all the sensations associated with the demonic, sight, the voyeuristic and the furtive are singled out for special consideration: "O diabo vige, diabo quer 6 ver" (510). "O diabo vige dentro do homem, os crespos do homem-ou 6 o homem arruinado, ou o homem dos avessos" (10). But what precisely are the features of the devil's visage? "Mais feio no dem6nio 6 o nariz e os beigos" (535). God's physical features are never alluded to directly in favor of a positive description of certain personality traits dealing with strong character and demeanor-above all joy and patience: "Deus 6 paciencia. O contrario, 6 o diabo," (16) or "Deus 6 alegria e coragem-que Ele 6 bondade adiante" (292). God is always definitive while the devil is illusive and evasive: "Deus 6 definitivamente; o demo 6 o contririo Dele" (39). If the devil is "doido sem cura" (219), he is no less boorish especially with regards to his eating habits: "Deus come escondido, e o diabo sai por toda parte lambendo o prato" (52). Falsehoods and the devil form one in their reproduction-"retorce que os falsissimos do demo se repro- duzem" (346)-but the bountifulness of the earth's harvests are a reflec- tion of who and what God is: "Deus e uma plantaCgo. A gente-6 as areias" (318). The concept of knowledge in general and the relationship of man to God in particular requires a habit of memory: "At6 para a gente se lembrar de Deus, carece de se ter algum costume" (144). And if God in his infinite wisdom knows what he knows-"O que Deus sabe, Deus sabe" (133)-what we can know of God can only be through interme- diaries: "Deus escritura s6 os livros-mestres" (326). Therefore God can be interpreted in diverse ways even in man's varied and contradictory beliefs because he is in everything: "Deus esti em tudo-conforme a cren\a" (291). Man's fee will is simply an illusion for in the final analysis it is God who calls all the shots: "Deus 6 que deixa afinar a vontade o

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instrumento, at6 que chegue a hora de se dangar" (289). Riobaldo's concluding remarks on the devil fittingly correspond to the conclusion of the narrative and his moral ordeal. The devil as a distinct reality and absolute outside man's consciousness does not exist. Like man, the devil is a passage-"travessia": "0 Diabo nao existe . . . se for . . . Existe 6 homem humano. Travessia" (568). And what of God? He exists but only in the good deeds and misdeeds of men. The cycle is complete and Rosa simply poses the question anew: "Que Deus existe, sim, devagarinho, depressa. Ele existe mas quase s6 por interm6dio da ago das pessoas: de bons e maus" (320).

Of the four major themes treated in the maxims, none has stirred more interest than the love-friendship dichotomy, and none explains more cogently why Grande Sertdo: Veredas is unique in the canon of Brazilian literature. In fact, the other three themes are intimately con- nected directly and indirectly with Riobaldo's attraction for Reinaldo- Diadorim, the boy-man, man-woman, jagungo-beauty duality with all the moral and esthetic implications of androgyny and bisexuality. Riobaldo's quest if nothing else is an attempt to determine whether his physical attraction for Reinaldo-Deadorim is a manifestation of an alleged pact with the devil. The amorous dilemma can be reduced to the two faces of love, "amor" and "amizade." One is a foil for the other: "Amor vem de amor" (23). But Riobaldo refuses to accept his bisexual orientation because it is diametrically opposed to the rugged, super macho code of behavior of the jagungo. The thirty (30) maxims treating love and friendship reveal Guimaraes Rosa as a true heir of a rich Iberian lyrical tradition where the medieval cantiga de amigo fuses with the pastorela in an emotional disguise. What Riobaldo feels for Diadorim either has no name because "Muita coisa importante falta nome" (102); or else it dares not speak its name, for it is something more than friendship and closer to passionate love: "Ah, a flor do amor tem muitos nomes" (178). At least one critic, notably Paulo Hecker Filho posits "homosexuality" as the main theme of the novel but considers the work flawed because the author chooses to circumvent the real subject by opting for a too facile denouement (5). In revealing Diadorim to be a woman, Hecker Filho believes that the narrative is distorted and lacks verisimilitude, but one is reminded that "O amor s6 mente para dizer maior verdade" (455). It is in the classical definition of "amigo" and "amante" that one perceives two parallel developments. The first is the Greek concept of a virile, fraternity of combat-"Amigo era o brago e o ago" (168)--contrasting with a more genteel and pastoral disquietude of love disguised as friendship: "Amizade dada 6 amor" (146-147). The unlikely locus amoenus of the sertdo gives rise not only to a budding romance between jagungos but a special relationship of equals, soul mates: "Amigo, para mim, 6 so isto: 6 a pessoa com quem a gente gosta de conversar, do igual o igual, desarmado" (168).

The characteristics of "amor" and "amizade" get confused as Riobaldo crosses the threshold of platonic love to passionate love. Just as the boy Reinaldo and the jagunco Diadorim introduce Riobaldo to beauty as reflected in the waterways, flora and fauna of the sertio, so

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too does the "amigo" develop into the "amante." The thought of the beloved evokes an instantaneous outpouring of emotion: "Mas, pensar na pessoa que se ama, 6 como querer ficar a beira d'agua, esperando que o riacho, alguma hora, pousoso esbarre de correr" (337). If Riobaldo has recourse to metaphor in describing his passion for Diadorim, it is because all love demands comparison: "Todo amor nao 6 uma especie de comparago?" (147). Suffering is the sine qua non of love because although love is a little bit of health and a respite from madness- "Qualquer amor ji 6 um pouquinho de sauide, um descanso na loucura" (291)-it is no less a little bit of grief and pain: "Porque d6 de amizade 6 num sofrezinho simples" (203). Often in the maxims Riobaldo alludes to animals to contrast the natural inclination of physical love with the socially acceptable constraints of conjugal bonding: "O amor? Pissaro que poe ovos de ferro" (56). Love produces the unforeseen and uncovers the hidden: "Amizade de amor surpreende uns senais da alma da gente, a qual 6 arraial escondido por detris de sete serras?" (437). The homo- erotic nature of the love-friendship theme is suggested by double entendre couched in animal metaphors of expansion: "Amor 6 assim- o rato que sai dum buraquinho: 6 um ratazao, 6 um tigre leao! (399). Love transforms both the lover and the beloved, often encompassing contrary emotions and abilities: "que se teme por amor; mas que, por amor, tambe6m, e6 que a coragem se faz" (426). Love keeps one young-"O amor geral conserva a mocidade" (491)-but also its proximity in the old may sidetrack and delay: "Amor em perto "s vezes sossega, em muitos adiamentos-ao homem da branca barba" (435). Love can be destruc- tive inspite of itself: "E amor 6 isso: o que bem quer e mal faz" (514). While love turns its back on all reprobation-"O amor da as costas a toda reprovaCgo" (437)-yet the lover remains always a disobedient slave: "Quem ama 6 sempre muito escravo mas nao obedece nunca de ver- dade" (516).

Love calls us in quiet, hushed tones: "Quieto, muito quieto e que a gente chama o amor; como em quieto as coisas chamam a gente" (433). But once lost, love always leaves an indelible mark in the form of an open wound-"D6i sempre na gente, alguma vez, todo amor achivel, que algum dia se desprezou" (488)-for the joys of love are invariably ac- companied by remorse: "O amor, ji de si, 6 algum arrependimento" (38). Love turns all thoughts and all speech to its own galloping imperatives: "Quando se viaja varado avante, sentado no quente, acaba o coxim da sela fala de amores" (489). Finally, the crystallization of love causes the lover to overlook all flaws of character, for "S6 se pode viver perto de outro, e conhecer outra pessoa, sem perigo de odio, se a gente tem amor" (291). The "amigo-amante" relationship in fact has no definitive terms and defies explanation and justification just like the other three themes under discussion: "Amigo-6 que a gente seja, mas sem precisar de saber o por que 6 que 6" (168).

In conclusion, the didactic scope of Guimaraes Rosa's masterpiece has been seen to focus on four main themes as revealed in the maxims. More specifically, Riobaldo's personal moral quest is seen to revolve around his sexual attraction for Reinaldo-Diadorim and his subsequent

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failure in consummating that love bond: "Quem vai em caga, perde o que nao acha" (258). On another level, Riobaldo's long narrative repre- sents a verbal attempt to restore Diadorim to life if only vicariously in his injured memory and thereby join together the contrary ends of sexual identity and fulfillment: "Como se, tudo revendo, refazendo, eu pudesse receber outra vez o que nao tenha tido, repor Diadorim em vida?" (561). "Viver" joins "contar" just as "cantar" and "non-entendivel" form the unifying threads of Riobaldo's love song. The maxims crystallize not just the narrator's moral dilemma but man's fate; on the one hand, his obsessive desire to differentiate good from evil, and on the other, his futile attempt to uncover any fixed moral guidelines: "Eu carego de que o bom seja bom e o ruim ruim. Quero os todos postos demarcados" (206). The reader must imagine Riobaldo as a sort of Sisyphus and Orpheus, forever recounting his lyrical adventure in an attempt to recoup a lost love and fathom the complex and weighty enigmatic modes of human behavior and memory. Narration thus becomes a passage, "travessia." Finally, to paraphrase Riobaldo sententiously: contar 6 muito moral.

State University College, Plattsburgh

NOTES

1. I have identified four hundred and sixty-one (461) statements that could be considered maxims in the broad sense of the word, treating a great variety of themes.

2. For an excellent analysis of the relationship between the narrator and the reader, see Luiz Fernando Valente.

WORKS CITED

Filho, Paulo Hecker, "Grande Romance: Frustraq6es." Estado de Sao Paulo, Supplemento Literario 29 April 1973:5.

Galvio, Walnice Nogueira. As Formas do Falso. Sio Paulo: Perspectiva, 1969. Garbuglio, Jose Carlos. O Mundo Movente de Guimaraies Rosa. Sao Paulo:

Atica, 1972. Nunes, Benedito. O Dorso do Tigre. Sao Paulo: Perspectiva, 1969. Rosa, Joio Guimaraes. Grande Sertio: Veredas. 16th ed. Rio de Janeiro: Nova

Fronteira, 1984. Valente, Luiz Fernando. "Affective Response in Grande Sertao: Veredas."

Luso-Brazilian Review 23 (Summer 1986): 77-88. Vincent, Jon. Guimaraies Rosa. Boston: Twayne, 1978.

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