Killing by joy: the Carnation Revolution in Alexandra Alpha

Abstract

This article proposes a reading of the strategies through which José Cardoso Pires’ last novel, Alexandra Alpha (1987), points to certain continuities between the Estado Novo and democracy. Set from the perspective of the post-revolutionary years, the novel focuses the period from the outbreak of the colonial war/war of liberation to the end of PREC. The analysis will underline that the revolutionary events represent an unfulfilled promise, the hope of a split that did not occur to the desired extent, especially from a cultural point of view. The analysis is based on a dialogue with Cardoso Pires’ previous work, mainly O delfim and the essays in E agora, José?, and on some documents that form part of the novel’s genetic dossier and that are kept in the author's estate at the National Library of Portugal. Utilising Eduardo Lourenço’s reflections on Portuguese “hyper-identity” as a primary point of reference, this article aims to highlight that the observed continuity develops across three domains: the symbolism associated with Portuguese time within the author’s narrative universe, the depiction of the intellectual milieu, and the (in)elaboration of trauma within the collective memory.