For the charm, amazement or edification of the creatures: Peregrino Jr. and Kretschmer<acute accent>s scientific ideas in magazines of Rio de Janeiro (1930-1941)

During the 1930s, there were a great circulation of medical-psychological theories about individual constitution and the kinds of personality, in Brazilian press. In this article, I analyze the role played by the physician and writer Jo & atilde;o Peregrino Jr. in the dissemination of the theories of temperament of Ernest Kretschmer in magazines of Rio de Janeiro, from 1930 until 1941. I observe how appropriations of this theory elaborated by Peregrino Jr. were applied to local debates about two interconnected themes: the application of medical theories to literary criticism and biographical studies, and the relation between medicine and literature. These two thematics, from a general point of view, refer both to the discussion about the relations between science and art. About the first theme, Peregrino Jr. was of the opinion that the utilization of the theories of Kretschmer made possible more comprehensive and profound studies than those based on other medical or psychological theories. About the second theme, he considered the physicians more apt to write this kind of popularization literature. According to it, I defend that Peregrino Jr. was a cultural mediator in Rio de Janeiro, transmitting a theme initially discussed by specialists for a greater lay public.