Of Filth, Feces and Fornication: the Aesthetics of Abjection in <i>Os Maias</i>

Abstract

This article provides an alternative reading of one of Eça’s most widely read and discussed texts, Os Maias, by challenging the common interpretation of the text as primarily about the incestuous relationship between the siblings Carlos and Maria Eduarda. Through a discussion of the aesthetics of abjection present throughout the novel, this study de- emphasizes the incest trope in order to examine Os Maias as a coherent text of abjection in which incest becomes part of a greater abject whole. Drawing from Julia Kristeva, this article discusses bodily abjection as a reaction to unwanted circumstances that are symptomatic of fin-de-siècle degeneracy.