A fantasia como recurso diante de um diagnóstico mortífero

Abstract

Freud began his journey towards the notion of fantasy in his work by following the steps of Gradiva, the woman who walks, a mythological figure originated in a novella. Henceforth, he realizes that literary narrative is capable of surfacing notions that are difficult to accept - with no need for argumentation or counterproof – such as the processes involved in the formation of dreams and delirium. In this study we will follow Freudian tradition in order to analyze a clinical case assisted by one of the authors, mixing elements of imaginative delirium with passages from The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, by Machado de Assis. Here, we will tell the tale of a young man diagnosed with HIV/Aids, tossed into the fury of the infernal waters without a single coin to give to the ferryman. With Virgilian support, our hero crossed the Elysian Fields in search for an end, or a new beginning.