“Maybe the northeastern girl had already concluded that life is extremely uncomfortable, a soul that doesn’t quite fit into the body, even a flimsy soul like hers.” pp 23-24
Clarice Lispector was an acclaimed Brazilian novelist who emigrated from Ukraine to Brazil’s rural northeast corner. She eventually moved to the more urban Rio area. The Hour of the Star, written as metafiction, is known as her masterpiece; it was written shortly before her death and published posthumously in 1977. Interestingly, this female author uses a male narrator to talk about a simple female named Macabéa. Macabéa is poor and uneducated. Her parents died when she was young, and an aunt raised her. Like the author, she is from northeastern Brazil and moves to Rio. Unlike the author, she remains naive, sweet, obedient, and seemingly unaware of her poverty and sadness. Macabéa works as a typist and lives with other women in a tenement. However, using Lispector’s quotes, we learn in a rich prologue written by Colm Tóibín that this story is really about a crushed innocence and an anonymous misery.
As is typical with metafiction, the narrator continually interrupts the story to remind the reader that this is a made-up story. The narrative’s choppiness is probably provided to help us understand the instability of the narrator and his subject. This is a book written to make us feel uncomfortable. There are also many commentaries on the meaning of Macabéa’s life and the narrator’s life. So, it is philosophical, and I wonder whether the musings are also metaphysical. Metaphysics often includes studying the nature of the human mind, the definition and meaning of existence, or the nature of space, time, and its causes. The narrator explores his own identity through his descriptions of Macabéa. Many questions are raised, and assumptions are made. The reader feels empathy toward the plight of the impoverished and meaningless lives of unfortunate beings such as Macabéa.
The narrator makes most observations about Macabéa as asides. We are not certain whether he even knows her. Other negative commentary about Macabéa is generated through some of the unlikeable characters, such as Gloria, the doctor, and Olimpico. Gloria is a woman who worked with Macabéa and acted maternally towards her. She was a better typist, according to the boss, and kept her job when Macabéa was fired. Olimpico is Macabéa’s boyfriend for a while, but he continually insults her and refutes what she says. He enjoys exploiting her ignorance. He eventually leaves her for Gloria, whom he believes is more equipped for childbearing. Macabéa laughs when she finds out that Olimpico prefers Gloria, and it is stated that sadness is reserved for the rich. The doctor tells Macabéa not to diet, as though her malnourishment is caused by purposeful dieting, and see a psychoanalyst. He’s a doctor to the poor, and it doesn’t seem to matter that he is not up-to-date on medical practices.
Some of the comments in the book remind me of a Twitter handle called @menwritewomen. Tweets tagged with this handle call out unusual depictions of women’s thoughts and bodies as characterized by men. The use of so many derogatory comments and descriptions of women in this novel is a masterful conveyance of sexism by this female author and the ultimate irony.
Other themes include the urban attitudes toward those from rural areas and those living in poverty. Members of Brazil’s elite social classes often disregard those living in abject poverty, in much the same way that the narrator and other characters ignore Macabéa. Although the narrator doesn’t give her credit for realizing it, Lispector wants the reader to know that Macabéa is searching for an identity. She uses the narrator’s search for identity to represent all humans who seek positive identity and life fulfillment.
