The Hour of The Star: Love

I feel this book is very unique: it is quite different from other books I have read.

From the very beginning, it is clearly written that the narrative itself is part of the subject. While the narrator, Rodrigo, introduces himself and even explains that the story will contain several characters, including himself as an important presence.

And according to the text, he portrays that in Macabéa’s life, there is almost no dramatic plot. She is poor in wealth, health, and education. She barely desires anything, yet she continues to believe that she is happy, or at least that her life is acceptable, until the end, when she briefly senses that something in her life is missing. However, this awareness is not a full awakening, but only a fragile and momentary realization triggered by what she is told.

Also, the love in the novel is very unusual — it seems as if it never truly exists, yet at the same time it is present everywhere.

1. Macabéa appears to love Olímpico, but her love remains mostly on the surface. This kind of love is neither equal nor deeply understood by each other. Rather, it feels more like a desire for companionship and a longing to have her existence acknowledged. Her understanding of love is pure and naive; it is light, almost weightless .
2. On the other hand, Olimpico’s love is not that healthy either. He is very ambitious, and throughout the novel, he is concerned with social mobility and self advancement. He constantly speaks about improving his status and seeks opportunities that might elevate his position.
   And when he eventually leaves her, he does not provide much emotional conflict or remorse. Instead, he rationally chooses a woman whom he believes will better contribute to his social aspirations:( as for him, he values that the relationships function as instruments rather than bonds of mutual understanding.
   “And you’re all dirt. You don’t have the face or the body to be a movie star.”(pp.45)
   (And I don’t like him at all!!! How could he say this to her???!!)
3. Love in the novel is closely connected to power. In this unequal relationship, Macabéa is passive: she never asks for anything and does not require loyalty, which makes me think it represents that she is also marginalized in the society. What is most cruel is that she is told she might have happiness, which makes her feel she deserves love, but she is crushed to death immediately afterward. This seems to suggest that the possibility of being loved exists only in words and can never truly happen in reality.
4. Lastly, what is more complex is the love from the narrator. Rodrigo claims that he cares about her and feels responsible for telling her story. His “love” for her seems to take the form of sympathy, duty, and even pity. However, this love is not free from power. While he insists that he is giving her a voice, he also controls how her story is told and how she is presented to the reader. In this sense, his affection contains authority, because he ultimately decides how she will be seen and understood.