Of Filth, Feces and Fornication: the Aesthetics of Abjection in Os Maias

This article provides an alternative reading of one of Eca’s most widely read and discussed texts, Os Maias , by challenging the common interpretation of the text as primarily about the incestuous relationship between the siblings Carlos and Maria Eduarda. Through a discussion of the aesthetics of abjection present throughout the novel, this study de- emphasizes the incest trope in order to examine Os Maias as a coherent text of abjection in which incest becomes part of a greater abject whole. Drawing from Julia Kristeva, this article discusses bodily abjection as a reaction to unwanted circumstances that are symptomatic of fin-de-siecle degeneracy.