Women in piles: Patrícia Melo’s hyper realism representing systemic violence against female bodies

Abstract

Based on feminist critical theory, this article analyzes the perspectives of violence presented in the novel Mulheres empilhadas (2019) written by Patrícia Melo, using the theoretical support of Collins and Bilge (2021), Bourdieu (2022), Foucault (2014), Butler (2021), Segato (2003 and 2016), Vergès (2020), in alignment with the decolonial perspective and the intersectional approache, highlighting and in dialogue with other texts that also deal with the topic.  The believable tone of the author’s criminal narratives will allow analogies with countless forms of systemic violence already perpetrated socially.  Based on discussions of poetic elements that are structured on the border between fiction and reality, as well as surveys of suggested points relevant to the analytical proposal, the reading will focus on the need for solutions so that all people, especially those with a female identity, can have their own spaces of speech and existence guaranteed.