Playfulness and Fantasies of the Literary Tourist

Abstract

The act of reading entails the reader's engagement with the materiality of the text, traversing the linguistic constructs to immerse oneself in the narrative and fictional world. Captivated by the storytelling, readers willingly dwell within these fictitious realms, fascinated by the literary work. Brandão (1995) emphasizes the necessity of a pact to read with the passion of the imaginary and allow it to flow. Once this pact is established during the act of reading, passions and fantasies can be experienced. But how can literary texts influence readers to the extent of inspiring them to take action, embarking on journeys into the unknown? There exists literature that reveals the motives behind the literary tourist's desire to visit locations associated with authors' lives and the settings of their works (Naipeng et al., 2021; Çevik, 2022; Faria et al., 2017). However, the factors influencing this displacement remain to be explored.

This research aims to investigate the origins of the bond formed between the writer and the reader, as well as the determining factors in visiting literary places, thereby transforming the reader into a literary tourist. This is theoretical research whose methodology comprises bibliographical research in different areas of knowledge: psychoanalysis, literature and tourism.

The strong relationship between literary creation, play, dreaming, and fantasizing, as developed by Freud in his work Creative Writers and Day-dreaming (1908), suggests that when a creative writer presents their pieces or recounts what we perceive to be their own daydreams, a profound pleasure ensues. This pleasure stems from even deeper psychic sources, representing a release of tensions within our minds. In turn, Winnicott (1975) elaborates the concept of potential space, an area of relief for children and adults in the face of tension when relating internal reality to external reality. Inserted in this area, they feel free to expose their fantasies, allowing a creative relationship with the world. It can be inferred that the pact formed between reader and book is constituted in this potential space established from a trusting and loving relationship with the writer. Visiting a place related to a literary work, the movement, is due to the desire to continue and expand the experience, the satisfaction found during reading.