BETWEEN NATURE AND LANGUAGE: AN ANALYSIS OF RACHEL DE QUEIROZ'S O QUINZE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ECOCITICISM AND HUMANISTIC GEOGRAPHY

Abstract

Since the dawn of brazilian literature, nature has been a frequently explored theme. Over the years, the literary field has been a space for representing the relationships between human beings and the surrounding environment, especially in 20th-century literature, which, in turn, is marked by regionalist character. In general, the aim of this article was to analyze the novel O Quinze, by Rachel de Queiroz (2024), in light of Ecocrítica, by Greg Garrard (2006) and Humanistic Geography, based on the studies of Yi-Fu Tuan (1983; 2012). We used a qualitative approach, of a basic nature, with an exploratory objective and bibliographic procedures. The analysis is based on a corpus composed of excerpts from the work, in which space assumes a symbolic, affective, and narrative role, functioning as an agent of expulsion, suffering, or belonging. Through the study, we realized that the sertão is not merely a natural setting for the narrative but rather a living character, a witness, and a victim of human action. The sertão, sometimes inhospitable, is also a place of memory, resistance, and hope. Thus, the study highlights how O Quinze denounces the relationship between environmental collapse and social injustice and promotes a critical reading of space, place, and the human relationship with them.