Representações do abuso sexual de menores na literatura infantil: uma análise das obras “Antônio” e “Leila”

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the representations of child sexual abuse and exploitation in children’s literature, based on a critical reading of the works Antônio (Ferreira, 2012) and Leila (Freitas, 2019). The study is part of the Literary Readings research line and engages with contemporary debates on so-called “fracturing themes”, that is, socially sensitive issues capable of provoking tensions and resistance in the school and publishing fields, but which are highly relevant to formation. The overall objective was to analyse the representation of sexual abuse and exploitation in children’s literature, investigating the narrative, aesthetic and symbolic resources employed and their possible formative effects on the reader. To this end, the research was conducted in three stages: (1) survey and cataloguing of children’s and young adult works that address sexual abuse and exploitation, using recommendation algorithms on digital platforms and research in the PNLD Literário collections; (2) critical review of academic production from the last ten years on the mediation of reading of fracturing themes; and (3) verbal-visual analysis of the works Antônio and Leila, considering narrative, imagery, and symbolic aspects. The theoretical foundation articulates contributions from Antonio Candido (1970; 2012; 2023), Teresa Colomer (2007), Donis A. Dondis (2015), Graça Ramos (2020), Sophie Van der Linden (2011) and Wolfgang Iser (1996; 1999), with emphasis on the Theory of Aesthetic Effect. The results demonstrate that works addressing child sexual abuse have strong aesthetic and formative potential, as they thematize deep traumas through sensitive and symbolically dense narratives. The analyses show how the verbal and visual constructions of Antônio and Leila allow child readers to symbolically confront limit-experiences, functioning as devices for empathy and recognition. In addition, the investigation revealed significant tensions between the social role of literature and the mechanisms of censorship and silencing that still prevail in Brazilian schools, especially in the face of conservative policies that seek to restrict the circulation of narratives considered “taboo.”. It is concluded that children’s literature, by including socially fracturing themes, can constitute a legitimate space for symbolic reception and awareness, contributing to the formation of critical readers and empathetic mediators.