“Senhor Ulme, encontrarei o seu caroço e dar-lhe-ei um motivo para ser cuspido”: a reading of the memory in Flores, by Afonso Cruz

Abstract

Memory is a phenomenon that involves the evocation of lived experiences from the past that are manifested through the remembrances. Since this process is part of the human being, there is a human attempt in understanding all of the complexity in the memory process. Having these ideas as support, our goal here is to analyze the manifestations of the memory in the novel Flores (2016)to expose in what way the characters relate with this process. In the methodological view, the article is qualitative of bibliographical nature. Published in 2015, Flores is part of a trend in the Newest Portuguese Literature to talk about universal themes. The Flores (2016) analysis demonstrated explicitly how, in the loss of individual memory, it is on the collectivity that mankind feeds their need of knowing their own past. Beyond that, the rescue of the past, as happened with Mr. Ulme, occurred above all in a search of a lost, fragmented and unknown identity. The analysis of Kevin proves how memories can act in the identity that is perceived on the man since a lot of his current actions are echoes of the teachings of his father. It can be affirmed that Afonso Cruz created a narrative that is situated in the trinity of individual memory, collective memory and identity. The theoretical support for this study will be the readings of theorists like Paul Ricoeur (2007), Michael Pollak (1992) e Maurice Halbwachs (1990), Yi-Fu Tuan (2013), Joël Candau (2011), Gabriela Silva (2016) and Miguel Real (2012).