Subversion As Tensity The Projection Of Ethos In The Gospel According To Jesus Christ By José Saramago

Abstract

This article aims to investigate how tensive predication, through the subversion of religious and cultural discourses, is constructed in the literature of José Saramago. To this end, it employs the theoretical foundations of tensive semiotics, as developed by Zilberberg (2011) and further expanded by Tatit (2019a, 2019b). Focusing on the projection of discursive ethos, the analysis explores the interaction between intensity (the sensitive, shaped by affectivity) and extensivity (the intelligible, states of affairs) in the creation of tensions that challenge dominant religious narratives. Within Saramago’s corpus, a chapter from The Gospel According to Jesus Christ —the encounter between Jesus and Mary Magdalene— is examined to reveal how Saramago’s enunciator constructs discursive and stylistic ruptures by subversively modulating values of the canonical Christian religious discourse. Thus, this study establishes conceptual links between literature and semiotics to demonstrate how both carry tensive potential to question dogmas and persuade the enunciatee-reader toward critical reflection. It can be concluded that tensive semiotics is a powerful theoretical tool for understanding the relationship between ethos, emotion, and rupture, as it highlights the transformative impact of this narrative within the cultural and social context of subjects.

Keywords: Tensive semiotics. Subversion. Ethos. Saramago. Religious discourse.