Tematizações do sagrado em O exorcista, de William Peter Blatty

Abstract

This dissertation analyzed how the sacred is thematized in William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist, based on the experiences of the characters Damien Karras, Lankester Merrin, and Regan MacNeil facing demonic possession. The overall objective is to understand how the sacred manifests itself in the narrative and how such manifestations influence the perception of human existence, intertwining with gender representations. The problem lies in the tension between the absence of God in the social fabric and the search for connection with the divine, which in the novel is revealed through the demonic, understood as an extension of the sacred. The object of the research is the novel The Exorcist, with an emphasis on the characters' noumenal experiences and the aesthetic-discursive construction of the sacred. The methodology combines literary analysis with Feminist Literary Criticism, an interdisciplinary perspective that connects literature and studies of the sacred. The method employed is a critical and interpretive reading of the work, exploring the dialogue between the sacred, the profane, and power relations. The research findings indicate that the novel engages with the cultural anxieties of its time, especially regarding modern disbelief and the return to the sacred through symbolic and physical violence. They also demonstrate that the character Regan MacNeil is central to this process, as her body becomes a site of conflict between superior male forces, revealing a dimension of patriarchal oppression. The research found that critical analysis of The Exorcist largely focuses on the relationship between science and religion, horror and fear, and the construction of the sacred in modernity. Thus, we conclude that The Exorcist is more than a horror novel; it is a narrative that encapsulates and resignifies existential and cultural anxieties, fostering a dialogue between the sacred and the profane, between belief and doubt, and between the feminine and the monstrous.