Females bodies in Mata doce and A casa de 365 janelas

Abstract

Cultural studies, discussions on gender issues, and feminist criticism have considerably changed theoretical approaches to fictional narratives. Gender-based violence, which has resurfaced, resuming sexist concepts arising from patriarchy, continues to generate physical and psychological consequences and deaths, especially for black, poor, indigenous people and other groups considered minorities. Based on this, we turn our attention to novelists who, in their writing, redefine the authorial role, exploring themes that make us rethink historical moments, spaces, and memories, aspects that lead to new dimensions and expansion of the literary canon. The objective is to analyze the novels Mata Doce (2023), by Luciany Aparecida, and A casa de 365 janelas (2020), by Deolinda Saraiva. We justify the choice of these because they bring characters who represent resistance to oppressive systems. By working with these fictional narratives and their importance for Afro-Brazilian Literature, we bring to light voices that, for centuries, were silenced in bodies that suffered various forms of oppression and prejudice. Thus, through literary art, we discuss practices and conditions that perpetuate violence against various subordinated communities. These are narratives from which one can reflect on a long period of enslavement-slavery of black people, in which these people were denied their time and voice. Therefore, observing female bodies and their resistance leads us to bring to the scene this contemporary writing in which subjects are given voice.