Pretending and Baroque: the developments of identity in "Anfitrião ou Júpiter e Alcmena", by Antônio José da Silva

Abstract

In this article we will deal with the play Anfitrião ou Júpiter e Alcmena (1736), by Antônio José da Silva (1705-1739), considering the pretending as appropriation of identity: Jupiter becomes Amphitryon, and the same does Mercury in relation to Saramago. We note that the Luso-Brazilian author, by way of overcoming the Plautino model and its intertextual paradigms, reinforces the multiplication processes in his play, adding developments to the initial mythos. In this sense, we can identify several unfolding procedures, among which: the division of the “Form-Amphitryon” into husband (Amphitryon himself) and lover (Jupiter in disguise); the insertion of Juno and Íris as a factor of opposition to Jupiter's love adventure and, consequently, to the main action branching. For this, we relate the strategy of pretending the characters to the unfolding processes carried out by the comedian. In the play in question, the character Juno unfolds her identity twice, pretending to be Felizarda and then Flérida. We also discuss the love quadrangles, which also occur as unfoldings: in parallel to the love games between the discreet (Amphitryon / Alcmena / Jupiter / Juno), we will have the comic action, which is given by the quiproquós between Mercury / Cornucopia / Saramago / Iris. Therefore, we found that the unfolding processes that characterize the Baroque aesthetic are manifested both in the structure of the serious and comic intrigues of the play and in the variations of the characters' identity, with Antônio José da Silva investing heavily in this resource, in an almost dizzying way.