A CONSTRUÇÃO DA PERSONAGEM SÁDICA NOS ROMANCES: XICA DA SILVA, DE JOÃO FELÍCIO DOS SANTOS E CHICA QUE MANDA, DE AGRIPA VASCONCELOS

Abstract

The protagonist of the novels Chica que manda (1966), by Agripa Vasconcelos, and Xica da Silva (1976), by João Felício dos Santos, is based on the emblematic figure of Brazilian history Chica da Silva, a slave who became “Sinhá” in the 18th century by marrying one of the most powerful men, the diamond contractor João Fernandes de Oliveira. The paper demonstrates the similarities and differences in the characterization of sadism employed in the construction of the character in each novel, as it is clear that the writers, although they both point to such trait, do it in different ways.