Abstract

In this paper we attempt to describe the hypertext mechanisms applied by Pasolini in his novel Teorema and the eponymous film (both 1968), through the incorporation of the myth of Dionysus in The Bacchae of Euripides and some passages of the Bible. From this place In considering the foregoing, the representation will be analyzed of the struggle of social classes in Italy in the late sixties as one of the scenarios for two contending powers: one that is primitive, originative, dignified and close to nature, represented by the working class and peasantry -especially by the character of Emilia-; and the capitalist and bourgeois power, represented by the family as a whole. The antithesis proposed by Pasolini to this fight is the destruction of this family from the presence of a nameless guest, whose origin and destination are unknown; and who, by his configuration, refers to the Greek god Dionysius.

Key words: Pasolini | Teorema | Transposition | Bacchae | Bible | Dionysus.