Os bastidores do poder: os dirigentes políticos reconstruídos por Agustina

Abstract

The seduction of power is a structuring theme in Agustina's work. As an essential factor in the dialectic of human relationships, power is also a key feature of fictional dynamics, perceived at various levels (marital, domestic, social, economic...). This essay will focus on political power, based in two novels – Os meninos de Ouro (1983) and O Comum dos Mortais (1998) – whose main characters are inspired on well-known leaders, both charismatic and controversial. By reconstructing the portraits and lives of these characters, Agustina sharply depicts their influences and intimate motivations, as well as the tension between desire and renunciation involving the use of power.