Mulheres e sexualidade na ficção contemporânea: um estudo sobre a obra de Carla Madeira

Abstract

Contemporary literature written by women has increasingly positioned itself as a critical voice against traditional and patriarchal discourses. Carla Madeira, the most widely read Brazilian author in recent years, has published novels that portray diverse female identities – sometimes aligning with, and at other times challenging – the imaginaries shaped by the colonial/modern system. In this context, the present research examines the novels Tudo é rio, A natureza da mordida, and Véspera with the aim of understanding how these works fit within the landscape of contemporary Brazilian literature authored by women, and how representations of women are constructed throughout the narratives. The thesis focuses on a topic that is intrinsically linked to the female experience: sexuality, which will be discussed considering the studies developed by Margareth Rago (1995; 2018), Mary Del Priore (2011; 2020), Ana Maria Colling (2014), and Vera Iaconelli (2023). This is a qualitative and interpretative bibliographic study, based on close readings and analysis of the selected novels, in dialogue with theoretical frameworks including feminist literary criticism, as proposed by Rita Terezinha Schmidt (1995) and Lúcia Zolin (2019a; 2019b); decolonial studies, according to Aníbal Quijano (2005) and Luciana Ballestrin (2013); and decolonial feminisms, following María Lugones (2020) and Françoise Vergès (2020). The hypothesis under investigation is that Carla Madeira’s narratives both question and, at times, conform to the colonial/modern and patriarchal view of sexuality and what it means to be a woman.