Helena de Tróia: um mito clássico em "A Costa dos Murmúrios"

Abstract

Lídia Jorge is unarguably one of the most outstanding authors in contemporary Portuguese literature. In her extensive literary work it is possible to trace down the reference to stories and myths pertaining to classical Greek and Latin tradition. Taking this perspective into consideration, in this article we examine the presence of the myth of Helen of Troy in the novel A Costa dos Murmúrios while seeking, at the same time, to understand how it has been intertwined with the account of the closing years of the colonial war in Mozambique. We have therefore drawn an intertextual parallel between Homerʹs epic and Jorgeʹs novel, by highlighting both the similarities and divergences, in an attempt to illuminate the authorʹs intention in revisiting the character of Helen of Troy.