Escrever a errância: o diário em a hora da estrela, de Clarice Lispector

Abstract

In this dissertation we aim to investigate some signs of the presence of the diary in the novel The hour of the star, by Clarice Lispector, published in 1977. The political context of its publication is the period of the military dictatorship in Brazil. The book features a protagonist named Macabéa, a northeastern woman who is detached from herself and from the modernization of Rio de Janeiro. In our reading, we perceive that, just as a diary carries intimacy in secret, the diaristic characteristics appear in layers within the writing of the narrator Rodrigo S. M., starting from the presence of Macabéa, who reveals themes related to the novel, such as wandering, exile, and Judaism. Within this scope, we also examine the themes of death and existence, which resonate in Macabéa and seem to engage with the reader's intimate experience. As theoretical foundations, we mainly refer to Clarice Lispector itself, especially the edition with manuscripts and unpublished essays of The hour of the star (2017), and to Blanchot (1987), Nancy (1996), and Barthes (2011). In this study, we seek to highlight the Jewish symbolism in the novel: Lispector’s genealogy, the origin of the name Macabéa, the image of the star, the Kabbalah, the blood, and the Shoah. For this, we rely on the works of Waldman (2011), Alencar (2011), and Moszczynska (2017), as these scholars link the writing of this novel to Judaism. For this master's research, we conducted an interview with residents of São Gonçalo do Gurgueia, Piauí, Brazil, to investigate traces of the Jewish diaspora in this town and in the northeast Brazil, the region from which both the protagonist of the novel and the author of this dissertation originate. For this objective, we relied on quantitative methodology and a bibliographic review based in Freyre (2013) and Ramos (2022) and in the documentary film The hidden star of the sertão (2005). Finally, inspired by Macabéa’s migration and her hidden identity, I attempt to write an autobiographical chapter addressing my experience in the south Brazil due to my master’s program and my racial affirmation, drawing on the contributions related to the Escrevivência of the black women writers Conceição Evaristo de Brito, Maria Beatriz Nascimento, Neusa Santos Souza, and Lélia Gonzalez.