The maternal oppression in Selo das despedidas, of Heloneida Studart

Abstract

The maternal figure results in a stereotype wrought by feelings of care and self-denial. This model is reinforced by the media, by religion and also by literature, especially written by men, who insist on conveying the image of a good mother, since the incentive to sedimentation of the social place occupied by her is one of the pillars of society. However, the maternity is not only made of flowers and maternal love, as demonstrated by Badinter (1985); to the literature made by feminine hands, through representation, as Castello Branco and Brandão (1989) show, fulfills the duty to deconstruct this idea, revealing the positive and negative sides of this role. In Selo das despedidas, Heloneida Studart evidences the maternal oppression through the exhibition of the family trajectory of the Nogueira de Alencar. In this novel, we evidence the marks of motherhood in the creation of girls-women, because it is perceived that oppression is passed on from mother to daughter successively, which leads to transgression and resistance once distinct characters sever maternal and social castration.