Comments on the testimony in "The third bank of the river", by João Guimarães Rosa

Abstract

“The third bank of the river” (2019), by the author João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967), presents a clear testimonial structure. Despite the numerous studies on the short story, there are still aspects to be explored, notably in relation to the testimonial character of the short story. An unanswered question: what are the limits of the character’s testimony? Most of the existing studies seek to analyze the tale from perspectives related to the madness or paroxysm of the canoeist father (Albert, 2003; Goulart, 2013). But perhaps it is possible and interesting to deepen an analysis of the short story in the light of other works by the author whose structures also simulate a testimony. The works mentioned here, by way of comparison, are The Devil to Pay in the Backlands (2021) and “General field” (2019) — texts from the famous 1956 cycle, therefore prior to the First Stories. No less important for the reflection on the testimonial character of the work are the sources that deepen and problematize concepts of testimony and its intrinsic relationship with literature (Derrida, 2015; Benjamin, 1995; Felman, 2014; Sarlo, 2007; Seligmann-Silva et al., 2009). From an analysis based on these references, it is possible to reach some considerations. Perhaps the main one tells us that the metaphysical and transcendental component of the short story (related to its unusual, paradoxical character) concerns not so much to madness, but testimony itself; more precisely its possibility (and its impossibility) of putting catastrophic events, whether collective or individual, into words.