A Construção da identidade feminina na obra “A garota dinamarquesa", de David Ebershoff

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the construction of the identity of Lili Elbe, a character who lived a love story in early 1930s Denmark, and the protagonist of David Ebershoff's novel The Danish Girl. This qualitative and bibliographic research draws on theorists who help us understand the various possibilities of identity construction, whether related to gender or sex, considering that identities are constructed and experienced in diverse ways. To develop this analysis, we turn to theorists who explore and elaborate on gender concepts, including culture, identity, and sex. Initially, we rely on the theoretical frameworks of authors such as Homi Bhabha (2013), Judith P. Butler (2019), Terry Eagleton (2011), Teresa de Lauretis (1994), Stuart Hall (2013), Guacira Lopes Louro (2004), Joan W. Scott (2002), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (2010), Letícia Nascimento (2021), Heloisa Buarque de Hollanda (2019), and Silvia Federici (2019). These scholars assist in understanding how, during the time depicted in the novel, the protagonist constructs and develops an identity entirely opposite to her original one, starting "from scratch." Even in our current historical context, it is evident that certain social "rules" are rigidly followed according to the customs we have internalized throughout life. We begin this research by exploring the construction of gender throughout the life of the protagonist in Ebershoff's work (2016). Next, we analyze the construction of gender from concepts that are directly related to the protagonist's experience of assuming her new identity. Thus, it is possible to conclude that, as in the fictional work, patriarchy continues to exist in many societies, making the pursuit of rights and the assumption of an identity—whether gender, sexual, or cultural—a challenging task, often met with prejudice. In the conclusion of this dissertation, we discuss the comparisons between the development of the novel as a literary work and the analysis of the protagonist, particularly concerning the fictionalization of reality.