Echoes of Eros: female power and gender representations on the Island of Love in Os Lusíadas Daniel Batista Lima Borges

Abstract

This article proposes a close and immanent reading of the Island of Love episode in Os Lusíadas ar­ticulating gender studies with Deleuzian philosophy. Far from being mere ornaments or rewards, by analyzing figures such as Venus and the nymphs, the text reveals how these characters act as symbolic forces of agency, desire, and poetic memory. Rejecting allegorical or functionalist interpretations, the reading suggests that eroticism functions as a language of consecration and glory, destabilizing the patriarchal logic of traditional epic. The study incorporates reflections by authors such as Cleonice Berardinelli, Paula Cunha, and Rafaella Teotônio, demonstrating how the feminine in Camões operates as a central axis of poetic and narrative composition. In this way, the poem is interpreted as a field of aesthetic and symbolic tension, whose effects still resonate in contemporary readings of literature and power.