Perkiness of Gabriela’s body in the novel by Jorge Amado

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the novel Gabriela Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado with a focus on the representation of the body based on the concepts of grotesque and carnivalesque put forward by Mikhail Bakhtin. The images and references to the body are discussed as they are projected in the narrative as well as the cultural critical dimension these images convey. Firstly, an analysis of the grotesque system of images is presented considering its deviant characteristic in relation to the esthetic model of bodies as known in Western tradition. Secondly, in the Amadian text, the representation of the body of the character Gabriela are taken as representative of this carnavalized universe ewhich defies laws and contentions well established in the so called official culture.