Art and knowledge in “The english papers”, by Ruy Duarte de Carvalho

Abstract

The text is devoted to the study of The English papers by Ruy Duarte de Carvalho, which aims at defining the legitimacy and the space of the eth­nographic discourse in the full constitution of the novel. Three congruent and interrelated aspects are discussed. The first one is generically named as epistemology, due to the fact that the novel introduces different ways of knowing and dealing with the world. From the standpoint of the anthro­pologist, the narrator proposes a conception of symmetry and distances himself from the classical rational academic epistemologies, aiming at a subjectivity comprehended in terms of relations, dependent on the other subjects. The second aspect, clearly connected to the first one, concerns the construction of the narrative, which is exposed both in the content and in the formal aspects. The constant use of metanarrative structures is noticed. The narrator suspends the narrative in order to resume it, rethink it and reflect about the courses it will take. The previous two aspects form a third one, which postulates a particular understanding of aesthetics. We come to the conclusion that Ruy Duarte discusses the subjectivities put in relation and reports this experience. The novel is composed of different discourses, being the ethnographic discourse one of them.