La viuda de Dios encuentra la voluptuosidad de la nada. Nihilismo y ironía en Machado de Assis y Nietzsche

Abstract

In the context of the discussion of nihilism, which occurred in the nineteenth century German philosophy, took place a strong controversy involving literature and philosophy. It’s worth remembering the importance of Nietzsche’s thought, the most prominent nineteenth century philosopher who has written on the subject. This paper aims to approach the problem of nihilism in Machado’s literature, contrasting his approach with the German philosophical tradition. Our hypothesis is that the Brazilian writer had an acute awareness of the complex nature of nihilism in his time, but approached the problem with a playful pen, in a critical and comic tone.