Suicide and Colours of Death in Lygia Bojunga’s O Meu Amigo

Abstract

This essay examines the emotional, psychological, and existential turmoil of a bereaved child following the suicide of his friend, as depicted in Lygia Bojunga’s children’s novel O meu amigo pintor (2004). Through a close textual analysis, the study interrogates the multi-layered causes behind the protagonist’s suicide—including romantic disappointment, professional disillusionment, and political persecution and assesses its reverberations in the child’s inner world. By tracing the dynamics of mourning and the strategies the child employs to cope with this profound loss, the paper foregrounds questions surrounding the nature of grief, the ethics of suicide, and the significance of affective bonds. Ultimately, it poses a philosophical inquiry: does Bojunga’s narrative suggest that life possesses intrinsic meaning? And if meaning remains elusive, might suicide appear as a viable resolution to existential suffering?