Between Ants and Cicadas: Manifestations of Work and the Form of the Urban Novel in Caminhos Cruzados, by Erico Verissimo

Abstract

This article aims to focus on the work and its implications as an essential aspect of the novel Caminhos cruzados (1935), by Erico Verissimo. This acts both as a theme and as a unifying formal element of the narrative. In aesthetic terms, work relations and their tensions tie the characters of the plot together in an intricate web, representative of the social strata present in Porto Alegre. With this, we also seek to analyze the social roles of the petty bourgeoisie and its dependents within this rising urban scenery, intrinsic to the reality of a young peripheral nation. For this, we use the literature about Erico Verissimo, in addition to the author's numerous testimonies about his literary project. We also seek to compare Caminhos cruzados to other contemporary works, such as Parque Industrial (1932), by Patrícia Galvão, and the North American novels, admired by the author for focusing on the problems of their place and historical time. Our analysis intends, through a close reading of excerpts, to highlight the alienation and irreconcilable class and work relations present in the book, in constant tension with the attempt to unify the novel and with the paths that insist on crossing.