O ZUMBI DE MANSINHA, BY JAYME GRIZ

THE UNCANNY IN THE ZONA DA MATA SUL OF PERNAMBUCO

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the short story O zumbi de Mansinha, by Jayme Griz. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks proposed by Ernst Jentsch, Sigmund Freud, and Tzvetan Todorov, the article reflects on the conceptual parameters that govern the uncanny in literary works. As an analytical category, we consider how the uncanny is perceived within the narrative. Using a dialectical approach, which requires interpreting the text by invoking external references to aid in understanding its composition, we observe that the characters hold unique views regarding the supernatural occurrences that invade the Zona da Mata Sul of Pernambuco. Thus, the transformation of the cow named Mansinha into a zombie and its appearance at the Engenho Liberdade is interpreted by the plantation owner, Amaro Padre, João de Nêga, and Cícero as an inexplicable event, a perception that aligns with the propositions of Jentsch and Freud, who associate the uncanny with unfamiliar phenomena. However, Todorov’s immanent perspective on reading does not allow us to categorize Griz’s story as belonging to the realm of the uncanny; as the governing laws of the world neither explain it nor treat its appearances as mere coincidences.