National Gypsies

Abstract

This article is an essay about the place of Gypsy people in literary pieces produced by the Western Civilization. If the Western’s imaginary sees the Gypsies as foreigners as much as an ambiguous beings, whom, depending on the situation, they fear or are fascinated with, here we take the chance to displace this interpretation, underlining the assimilation of the gipsy figure in the identity building process of two nations: Brazil and Spain. Using this image in assorted ways, authors from both countries restore the gypsy’s representation content into a national value itself, proving, on the other hand, the ambiguity and plasticity comprised in the gypsy’s image.