Intertextual relations between literature and history in the novel O Filósofo, a Enfermeira e o Trapaceiro by Max Velati

Abstract

The contemporary historical novel is a literary genre that combines real events from the past with the author's imaginative freedom, leading readers to experience intrigues, crimes, battles, and mysteries. Established in the 19th century, it plays an important role in the construction of a nation's identity and nationality, incorporating truthfulness and literary creation to reconstruct events and customs of a specific time. The boundary between fiction and history is delicate and causes language to create order and reinvent historical episodes and protagonists. The novel O Filósofo, a Enfermeira e o Trapaceiro is an example that blends ethical, philosophical, historical, and psychological data, allowing the reading audience to connect with characters and their experiences in Brazilian imperial society. Hybridization, used in Max Velati's novel, is a growing trend in contemporary literature, combining elements from different literary genres such as fantasy, mystery, historical romance, among others, allowing multiple narrative approaches, styles, and themes to be explored while preserving the historical context as a backdrop. The hybridization present in the plot enables reflections on current topics, using the historical setting as a lens to analyze and discuss relevant assertions, bringing them into the narrative. Based on these premises, we emphasize that our intention with this analysis, which is previously unpublished in the academic field, is nothing other than to raise discussions based on critical and literary perspectives, drawing from research in digital and physical sources related to the historical novel genre and the combination of other textual styles that surround it.