WWeesstteerrnn UUnniivveerrssiittyy SScchhoollaarrsshhiipp@@WWeesstteerrnn Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-19-2012 12:00 AM TThhee GGoossppeell AAccccoorrddiinngg ttoo JJoosséé SSaarraammaaggoo:: aa CCoommppaarraattiivvee SSttuuddyy ooff CCrriittiiccaall RReecceeppttiioonn iinn PPoorrttuuggaall,, UUnniitteedd SSttaatteess,, aanndd CCaannaaddaa Bruna Reis, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Dr. Marilyn Randall, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature © Bruna Reis 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, Modern Literature Commons, and the Portuguese Literature Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Reis, Bruna, "The Gospel According to José Saramago: a Comparative Study of Critical Reception in Portugal, United States, and Canada" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 437. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/437 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOSÉ SARAMAGO: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CRITICAL RECEPTION IN PORTUGAL, UNITED STATES, AND CANADA (Spin title: The Gospel According to Saramago: a Study of Critical Reception) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Bruna Reis Graduate Program in Comparative Literature A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Bruna Reis 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Marilyn Randall Dr. Constanza Burucúa ______________________________ Supervisory Committee Dr. Lilian Magalhães ____________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Constanza Burucúa Dr. Luca Pocci The thesis by Bruna Reis entitled: The Gospel According to José Saramago: a Comparative Study of Critical Reception in Portugal, United States, and Canada is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Date__________________________ _______________________________ Dr. David Darby Chair of the Thesis Examination Board   ii ABSTRACT Portuguese writer José Saramago (1922-2010) is well-known for controversial, challenging, and thought-provoking novels. In this study, I analyze the critical reception of his works in his home country, where The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991) was excluded from participation in the European Literary Prize on ideological grounds, and in the United States and Canada, where Blindness (1995) brought a wave of uniformly positive response until the publication of Cain (2011), perceived negatively as a didactic tool to convince readers of the unviability of Christianity. This examination is framed by Iser’s theory of aesthetic response. More specifically, I focus on the concepts of virtual dimension of the text, passive synthesis, and negation in order to reflect upon the transmission of ideology through the writing of literature, and the impact of the reader’s personal convictions upon interpretation and reception. From the perspective of the reading process espoused by Iser, I argue that, in the case of Portugal, the religious reception of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ and Cain is negative because the reader’s personal convictions compromise the formation of the textual virtual dimension and the processes of passive synthesis and negation. In the case of English-speaking North America, my argument is that Saramago’s anti-religious ideology, offered through didacticism in Cain, changes a scenario of overwhelmingly positive response to negative opinions on the novel. In this case, it is not the reader’s but Saramago’s personal convictions that interfere with the reading process. Keywords: Critical Reception, Reader Response, José Saramago, Wolfgang Iser, Portuguese Contemporary Literature, Ideology   iii DEDICATION To Nathan, who was born while I was pursuing this academic degree. I love you beyond words. E se não fossem suas palavras Para diminuirem a grandeza assustadora De uma oportunidade? Para me mostrar que eu também posso Que é suficiente o que eu acho metade? Dos resultados eu sinceramente me admiro “Até parece, eu já sabia” O que me falta depois de tanto rascunhar É um pouco do teu sorriso de ousadia Hoje acordei para me questionar: Será que eu teria chegado até aqui? Onde estariam engavetadas minhas folhas Amarelando sem teu apoio Sem tua fé e gentileza, Davi? And to José Saramago, who taught me the importance and beauty of questioning.   iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis would have been significantly more difficult without the following people and institutions that will always have my deepest appreciation: Professor Marilyn Randall, whose expertise, flexibility and kindness were always offered in relaxed but objective conversations that relieved this journey from its usually attributed stress; Professor Constanza Burucúa, who went beyond her role as a second reader, and offered me helpful advice about every step of this process; SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), for granting me a Joseph Armand-Bombardier Graduate Scholarship (2010-2011) that allowed me the comfort of subtracting financial worries from academic preoccupations; The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, for partially funding a research trip to Lisbon, Portugal; My dear friends at Village Green Community Church, who offered me their precious friendship, patience, words of encouragement, childcare, meals, prayers and smiles while I was writing this thesis. I am truly blessed to have you in my life and lucky to the extent that there are so many of you that I wouldn’t do you justice if I mentioned names. You know who you are. You are also my family in Canada; And last but always first, my husband Davi and my son Nathan, for your patience when I complained, for your understanding when I had to be absent, and for your love that encouraged me to achieve this personal goal. We have come so far together!   v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Examination page ii Abstract and keywords iii Dedication iv Acknowledgments v Table of contents vi List of tables viii List of appendices ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 – An Overview of Saramago’s Reception, and Theoretical Approach 13 1.1 Overview of General Reception 15 1.1.1 Literary Reception 15 1.1.2 National-Political Reception 24 1.1.3 Social Reception 30 1.1.4 Bio-literary Reception 33 1.2 Theoretical Approach 35 Chapter 2 – A Battle of Ideologies: Portuguese Religious Reception 41 2.1 Themes and Exceptions 41 2.2 Religious Reception of Religion-Based Books 46 2.3 Religious Reception of Non-Religion-Based Books 68 2.4 Non-Religious Reception of Religion-Based Books 71 Chapter 3 – “A Disappointing End”: North-American Responses to Cain 75   vi 3.1 General Considerations 75 3.2 “Only the Daring Enlightens”: Positive Reception 76 3.3 The Common Ground: Didacticism in Cain 84 3.4 The Effects of Cain on Overall Reception 98 Conclusion 100 Works Cited 105 Appendix 1 – Saramago’s Works Translated into English 120 Curriculum Vitae 121   vii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Summary of Saramago’s Reception in Portugal, United States, 40 and Canada   viii LIST OF APPENDICES Page Appendix 1. Saramago’s Works Translated into English 120   ix