BOM CRIOULO DE ADOLFO CAMINHA: DA AMBIGUIDADE SEXUAL À MARGINALIDADE SOCIAL

Abstract

Abstract: Published in 1895, Bom Crioulo is known as a pioneering novel in the representation of a homosexual character or plot. However, although in some fragments the work of Adolfo Caminha seems to be conceived within the medico-moral discourse that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century on homosexual identity, it also opens space for other conceptions on the subject, resulting in a narrative oscillation in the characterization of sexual relations between men.  In addition, due to the variety of oppositions it shows, it is possible to think that Bom Crioulo is, mainly, a tale about various manifestations of social marginality, a marginality understood far beyond sexuality, and which gives the finissecular novel a great relevance.

Keywords: Bom Crioulo; Homosexual identity; Social marginality; Naturalism.