INTRODUCTION “Ashes derive their symbolism first from the fact that they are preeminently a residue […].”1
This work begins with a kind of observation: there is something in the work of art that revolves around disappearance – a certain original dimension that cannot be ignored2. First, according to Genet: the work of art is for the dead. Then, according to Pasolini, whose poem entitled Poeta de las Cenizas3 reinforces the artist’s esteem for what is forgotten – and which must be rescued. In both notions, the role of the artwork in making this rescue and formalizing it is evident. It is under this motto that the work of W. G. Sebald, a German writer born in 1944 [Wertach, 1944 – Norfolk, 2001], whose work will be the starting point of this dissertation, is also configured. Centered on the effects of destruction, as evidenced by the reading of his books, Sebald’s writing incorporates a duplicity that simultaneously covers the end and the permanence – or, more precisely, what survives the destruction, identified here as ash. At all times, the author makes a kind of pilgrimage to the vanished and points to the constant crossing between the dimensions of memory and forgetfulness. By using a set of ashes, Sebald effectively seeks to formalize an absence. In this sense, it is possible to introduce a question: how does the recovery of memory as ash happen in the author’s work? Like the pilgrimage strategy – fundamental in Sebald’s narratives4 – an itinerary will be developed, based on three essential points of convergence: Space, Image 1
CHEVALIER; GHEERBRANT – Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. “No, no, the artwork is not intended for new generations. It is offered to the innumerable people of the dead.” (GENET, 2000, page 15, own translation) 3 Spanish edition [2015] of the autobiographical poem written in 1966 [Poeta delle Ceneri]. In it Pasolini covers the traces of disappearance: in the first part, he revisits the family trajectory intensely, constantly referring to the original landscapes – geographical and affective; in the second, he elaborates a contemplation of his own work and articulates a brief argument about his creative process. 4 Essentially in those that are parto f the so-called prose-fiction, a term referred to by the author about the following narratives: Vertigo, The Emigrants, The Rings of Saturn and Austerlitz. 2
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