The enigma of James Marian: gothic body and deviant desires in Esphinge

Abstract

This study analyzes the novel Esphinge (1908) by Coelho Netto from the perspective of nineteenth-century Gothic fiction. It is argued that the narrative can be read through a Gothic lens not only due to its imagery—haunted mansions, asylums, dreams, and spectral experiences—but also in the ways it addresses issues related to body politics, gender identity, and national identity. Jolene Zigarovich’s (2018) concept of transgothic, which emphasizes transformation and transience in Gothic fiction, is fundamental to this analysis, as it provides a framework for examining transgender identities, cultural hybridisms, and transnational dynamics within the novel. The protagonist, James Marian, experiences conflicts and desires related to Gothic tropes of duality, monstrosity, and the limits of human subjectivity. The Brazilian novel creatively adapts and reinterprets Anglo-American Gothic conventions to critique sociopolitical structures at the turn of the twentieth century in Brazil. It is concluded that Esphinge contributes to the Gothic tradition by destabilizing rigid categories of identity and offering a complex reflection on bodily and cultural hybridity.