From the comic to the tragic: O Santo e a Porca, by Ariano Suassuna

Abstract

This article analyzes the play O Santo e a Porca, by Ariano Suassuna, particularly giving importance to its protagonist, Euricão. We have in such a character the comic representation of the miser, the one who sacrificed all material luxuries in the name of this disordered love for a sow full of money. The play typically proceeds like a comedy of errors, until Euricão discovers that the notes are worthless. At that moment, the absurdity and lack of meaning in life appear before the character, raising him to a tragic level, precisely in the final three pages. For a theoretical understanding of this journey, especially Aristotle, Frye, Jaeger and Camus will be useful, as they deal with the comic and tragic modes from varied and complementary perspectives. Thus, we aim to bring a reading that values ​​the discussions provoked by the central character of the play and that extends its reach, especially with regard to the most important question of traditional philosophy: the problem of evil and human suffering.