The subversion of authority through humor in Graças e Desgraças da Corte de El-Rei Tadinho, by Alice Vieira

Abstract

This article examines the relevance of Alice Vieira’s work within Portuguese-language children’s and young adult literature, highlighting its contribution to overcoming reductive perspectives traditionally associated with this field. The analysis focuses on Graças e Desgraças da Corte de El-Rei Tadinho, emphasizing humour as a structuring element of the narrative and a mechanism of implicit critique. It is argued that humour, far from serving a merely entertaining function, operates as a device for meaning-making, enabling the problematization of power structures, social conventions, and established modes of representation. Through irony, absurdity, and the inversion of expectations, the author deconstructs traditional models of authority, exposing the fragility and inefficiency of institutional systems. Furthermore, the study underscores the role of language in the aesthetic construction of the work, characterized by the interplay between orality and discursive precision, as well as by the reconfiguration of narrative traditions, particularly the fairy tale. This combination allows for multiple levels of interpretation and encourages active reader engagement. The article concludes that Alice Vieira’s writing affirms children’s and young adult literature as a legitimate space for aesthetic creation and critical reflection, contributing to the development of autonomous and interpretatively engaged readers.