DEALERS WITH THE DEVIL A history of Brazil

Abstract

The myth of Faust narrates the pact ou deal of a human being with the devil, to whom he sells the soul in exchange for power, wealth and youth. The fulfillment of the pact depends on the belief in the existence of the devil, an entity that manifests itself late in Antiquity, but becomes part of Christian thought since the Middle Ages. The myth of Fausto expands during the Renaissance period and later, consolidating the “covenanter” as a patrimony of the Western literature. Exemples are "A Salamanca do Jarau", by João Simões Lopes Neto, "A teiniaguá", episode from O Continente, by Erico Verissimo, and Grande sertão: veredas, by João Guimarães Rosa.