Schrödinger’s cat in Brazilian Literature: Capitu’s conceptual terminology

A terminologia conceitual de Capitu

Abstract

Introduction:It approaches the construction of the character Capitu and her relationship with women in modern times, by drawing a parallel between the terms used in the literary work Dom Casmurro and those found on Twitter[1] to characterize the character, through a Thesaurus, looking at the eighteenth-century feminine vision marked in Machado de Assis' writing in parallel with the discussions on the social network. Method: It was established that the methodology of this study was by the methods of documentary and bibliographical research, of a descriptive and exploratory nature, in a qualitative approach. Results: The final result of the work was the construction of the Thesaurus, where there is a parallel between the terms collected, corroborating the patriarchal feminine social idea, with plastered roles and dynamics. In the Thesaurus, all the selected terms were duly interconnected within the possible relations that the tool allowed. Thus, it was possible to allow the proper investigations to take place. Conclusions: The study showed that the character Capitu remains alive in the ludic imaginary of the subjects, whether readers of Dom Casmurro or not, as a representation of the 19th century woman and the social roles performed by women at that time. This perspective is in direct dialogue with women today, as demonstrated by the conceptual terminology and the relationships between the terms exposed in the Thesaurus. Finally, it can be seen that the thematic representation of the character is consistent with a social vision where women are subordinate and inferior to men, relegated to the role of mother, wife and housewife, these social dynamics expected from Capitu continue being perpetuated today.

[1] The social network Twitter was purchased by businessman Elon Musk and on July 24, 2023 a rebranding took place, from that moment on Twitter was called X. As this change was made with the research already completed, we chose to keep the title original version of the social network, maintaining the fidelity of the initial time frame.