Madeira Island and Saudade in A Corte do Norte

Abstract

A Corte do Norte, by Agustina Bessa-Luís, begins with a description of the feeling of homesickness (saudade) associated with Madeira Island. This topic will cross the entire novelistic plot, with the obsession of several characters with Rosalina’s enigma – a mysterious and absent character – being a paradigm of this. This singular feeling is so decisive that the novel actually ends with a reference to it. Therefore, we will try to propose a reading according to which Madeira appears in this text as a kind of emblem of the never-realized desire that is saudade. The island’s sublime landscapes are understood as visual extensions of the astonishing (ravishing and terrifying) character of saudade. Because the association of landscapes with this peculiar nostalgic feeling is widely explored in João Botelho’s adaptation, we will also mention the film in our reflection. Finally, we will try to show that what is truly at stake in the connection established between island and saudade is a reflection on artistic creation itself.

Keywords

A Corte do Norte; Agustina Bessa-Luís; Intermediality; Sublime; Beautiful; Literature; Cinema.