Discurso e(m) cenas da enunciação: a literatura de Lygia Fagundes Telles em o ‘Senhor Diretor’

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the processes of identity (de)construction of the character Maria Emília, protagonist of the short story "Senhor Diretor", through the enunciative scenes that legitimize her discourse. The investigation is grounded in the framework of French Discourse Analysis, particularly in the theoretical assumptions of Dominique Maingueneau (2004, 2008) concerning enunciation scenes and discursive ethos. Based on the selection of seven excerpts from the narrative, the study examines the conditions of emergence of the discourse and its articulation with the Brazilian sociopolitical context of the 1970s, during the military regime, especially regarding the discursive construction of old age and the social positioning of women. The narrative elements analyzed reveal meaning effects shaped by normative discourses that associate female aging with decline, repression, and submission, both in interpersonal relations and within broader social structures. In summary, the study demonstrates how literary language operates as a privileged space for the critical examination of social representations, particularly those related to aging, sexuality, and the role of women.