A dupla face melodramática na peça Toda Nudez Será Castigada (1965), de Nelson Rodrigues

Abstract

This article analyzes the play Toda Nudez Será Castigada (1965), by Nelson Rodrigues (1912-1980). Contrary to the critical tradition that prioritizes a tragic perspective on the writer's dramaturgical production, this investigation focuses on the melodramatic procedures embedded within the text. Through close examination and historical poetics, it was observed that melodrama operates bivalently. This dual framing enables the consideration of the melodramatic form as a genre originating from bourgeois drama. Moreover, it also allows for reflection on the melodramatic mode from an expanded perspective, in light of modernity and postmodernity. Furthermore, the playwright's employment of a slippery form of melodrama is evident, as he utilizes it in a hybrid manner, drawing upon both tragic and comic elements as the plot progresses. It can be concluded that the combination of these factors fosters melodramatic ambivalence through its popularity and the commercialization of subjectivities by agents linked to the Cultural Industry.