Art as Refuge: Intertextuality, Space, and (Imagi)nation in “Aqueles dois,” by Caio Fernando Abreu

Abstract

This article analyzes intertextuality in “Aqueles dois” [“Those Two”], from the collection Morangos mofados [“Spoiled Strawberries”] (1982), by Brazilian author Caio Fernando Abreu. Many studies have approached the short story through a queer theoretical lens, but only a few have deeply engaged with the its various intertextual references to art, poetry, music, and film. Moreover, the artistic, literary, and pop cultural works that are referenced in the short story tend to be from abroad, thereby composing a cosmopolitan vision for a Brazil still in transition from military dictatorship to democracy. This article therefore argues that intertextuality in “Aqueles dois” not only hints toward the homoerotic attraction between the protagonists, Raul and Saul, but also enriches the story’s public and intimate spaces with symbolic meaning. Specifically, the allusions to the painting “Bedroom in Arles,” by Vincent Van Gogh, reinforce the sense of security and peace that the protagonists enjoy while being together inside of each other’s apartments ”“ and outside of the public eye. In addition, the references to the poetry of Walt Whitman, to Hispanic American boleros and to Hollywood cinema not only intensify the story’s homoerotic overtones but also represent a refuge in which the protagonists escape the repression of Brazilian society, if only through the transportive power of art and imagination. Intertextuality thus plays a fundamental role within the sociopolitical dimension of Caio Fernando Abreu’s work. Despite the gradual opening of political and cultural life after the 1979 Amnesty Act, “Aqueles dois” attests to the dictatorship’s legacy of homophobia in Brazil during the period of transition to democracy, and it continues to be relevant reading to this day.