A Guerra do Paraguai à luz dos romances Santo Reis da Luz Divina e Río Escarlata

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Paraguayan War (1864-1870), also known as War of the Triple Alliance, has in the hybrid literature of History and fiction a space of resistance against oblivion and often a critical and interpellative remeaning. This article deals with parts of the historiography of the Paraguayan War, approaching its main aspects and relevant episodes as subsidies to the understanding and comparison of the historical novels Río Escarlata (2016), by Paraguayan María Eugenia Garay, and Santo Reis da Luz Divina (2004), by Brazilian Marco Aurélio Cremasco. From different perspectives — nationalist and critical deconstructionist, respectively —, the novels reframe the theme of the Paraguayan War and provide updated interpretive possibilities. In this way, it aims to demonstrate how these narratives are capable of reframing a remarkable moment in the History of Latin America and inducing reflection on humankind, its society and the passage of time.

KEYWORDS: Fiction. Paraguayan War. History. Historical novel.