Clarice Lispecto | The Hour of the Star

The Hour of the Star explores issues of sexism and poverty and raises philosophical questions about the nature of existence and the formation of identity while following the lives of the Macabéa in the slums of Rio.

Macabéa is from northeast Brazil. People there live in severe conditions where they often starve. The area is one of the poorest in Brazil, and most people from there are of mixed race. We are told the setting many times throughout the book, and it seems like Clarice Lispector wants to emphasize poverty in Brazil, which is still a hot topic. Macabéa was rejected from an early age: her parents had passed away, and an evil aunt raised her. Her aunt deprived Macabéa of the joys of life and physically beat her to the point of sterility. I was expecting a Cinderella-like story at that moment because the two main characters were being bullied by their aunt and sister; however, disappointingly, the story did not turn out to be as good as Fairy Tails.

As the story progressed, I anticipated that The Hour of the Star would be an uncomfortable or upsetting reading experience for me. To an extent, I was right because of gender discrimination. The principal male character, the terrible boyfriend Olimpico, is completely self-obsessed, and the women in his life are extensions of himself. The first time they met, it was raining; the second time, it was also raining. Finally, he told Macabéa, "All you ever do is rain!" (45). I know he was frustrated by the bad weather, but WOAHH! WHAT A SWEET WAY TO TALK TO A WOMAN! If I were to say something like this by men, I would leave immediately from the place, leading me not to love him so desperately anymore.

Then there is Rodrigo S.M. He is the one who narrates the story of Macabéa and gives us all the information about her. Rodrigo describes her as undernourished, ugly (SO FREQUENTLY!), dirty, innocent, and unfeeling. After he continually referred to her as ugly, I began to think this way; how can we know about her unloveliness and ugliness? I have never seen a narrator describe the main character as ugly so many times. I believe Lispector is conveying to us that this is how men judge and evaluate women. It is men in this novel who determine beauty and ugliness. Macabéa's values and true character are woven into the thread of the story, despite the narrator, and we are left to judge whether she is truly ugly and worthless and consider the injustice of her life.

To conclude, I suppose it may seem that I hate this book to those who read my blog post, but in fact, I enjoyed reading it. The Hour of the Star is very well constructed, complex and worth reading! I am now interested in another book written by Clarice Lispecto.

Questions: 

Rodrigo S.M. and Macabéa struggle to find themselves and answer the question, "Who am I?" How would you answer their question? Also, do you have any recommendations for Lispecto's book?