“If this story does not exist, it will come to exist”: intertextualities and (dis)encounters in the trajectory of the Macabéas

Abstract

This article proposes to analyze the narratives The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector (1998), and Macabéa: Flor de Mulungu, by Conceição Evaristo (2023), with the aim of investigating the dynamics of intertextuality in contemporary comparative literature, focusing on the representations of the Macabéas. In this way, we discuss how the protagonist of the novel – created by Clarice Lispector – was reinterpreted in Conceição Evaristo’s writing, seeking to emphasize the contrasts between the different narrative prisms. This bibliographical and analytical research is based on authors such as: Carvalhal (2003, 2006); Coutinho (1996, 2016); Kristeva (2005); Nitrini (2010); and Perrone-Moisés (1990). Thus, we intend to show how intertextuality and comparative literature can contribute to the discussion of identities, cultural aspects and social issues. Clarice Lispector’s work highlighted Macabéa’s inactivity, smallness and even the requirement of death (in order to achieve stardom), while Conceição Evaristo’s tale promotes the construction of a reality in which we can glimpse Macabéa’s existence (now as a black protagonist) in a renewed vision, underlining her ability to survive and resist through language and ancestry. In the comparative context of this article, we interpret the statement ‘If this story does not exist, it will exist’ as a testimony referring to female authorship that can be used to make visible lives and stories traditionally obliterated by androcentric narratives.