When we think of Modernism, we tend to think of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Marcel Proust or Miguel de Unamuno might come to mind, if we are familiar with Modernism in French and Spanish contexts. What is perhaps less well known is that Modernism thrived in Portugal, the most famous writer to fall into this category being Fernando Pessoa, about whom much has been written and debated.
Alongside Pessoa, there existed a small but prolific network of writers and artists, known popularly as the Orpheu Generation, committed to reworking and revoking nineteenth-century received wisdoms about cultural and literary convention and practice. One such writer was Mário de Sá-Carneiro who, though still celebrated in his country of birth, has today a relatively small, if devoted, readership beyond its borders.
In it, the protagonist experiences what can only be described as an overwhelming existential crisis after meeting a stranger, who quickly becomes an object of painful fascination for him. He exclaims, “I have run aground inside myself” and, later, “I am too much for myself”, with the image of him overflowing his bodily borders suggesting that his understanding of the self is not compatible with society’s. The short story ends with the protagonist, terrified, claiming that “I am another…I am the other…The Other!”. Just as before, it could be argued that the influence of fin-de-siècle literature, and specifically its fixation with foreignness – exemplified in such works as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness – has found a place in Sá-Carneiro’s text.
The third and final urge on the part of this array of characters is their desire to explore and experience non-normative forms of love and lust, gender and sexuality. What the feminist poet and critic Adrienne Rich famously described as “compulsory heterosexuality” is railed against in Sá-Carneiro’s work, especially in ‘Lucio’s Confession’, in which the eponymous protagonist narrates the story of how he ended up serving a jail sentence for murder. His best friend, Ricardo, returns from Paris married, but Lucio soon notices that Ricardo and his wife, Marta, are rarely, to be found in the same room together at the same time, if at all. Lucio commences an affair with Marta, which is discovered by Ricardo who, in a fit of rage, shoots Marta dead in front of Lucio. At this point, the climax of the novella, Lucio tells us that before him lay the bodies of Ricardo and Marta; in shooting Marta, Ricardo shoots himself. Whilst he thought he was having an affair with Marta, it becomes clear to Lucio that he was actually having one with Ricardo, introducing the possibility of queer readings of the novella. Through a variety of guises, it’s clear not only that Sá-Carneiro’s characters seek to satisfy their urges, bodily as much as psychological, but also that the influences of a range of literary movements can be found in his writing. In many ways reflecting the urges of Modernism to break the creative mould, the Portuguese modernist’s presentation of queer subjectivities and his questioning of socially-sanctioned desires is surely as bold now as it was in the 1910s.
For Cherwell, maintaining editorial independence is vital. We are run entirely by and for students. To ensure independence, we receive no funding from the University and are reliant on obtaining other income, such as advertisements. Due to the current global situation, such sources are being limited significantly and we anticipate a tough time ahead – for us and fellow student journalists across the country.
So, if you can, please consider donating. We really appreciate any support you’re able to provide; it’ll all go towards helping with our running costs. Even if you can't support us monetarily, please consider sharing articles with friends, families, colleagues - it all helps!
Thank you!