Clarice Lispector you would have loved Greta Gerwig
I’m so sorry if you didn’t like this book because I’m about to sing its praise. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector is one of my favourite books so far in this class. For a book so short why did I almost cry at multiple parts? I LOVED Macabea, I’m not gonna even talk about her evil ugly boyfriend cause he’s not worth my word count.
Actually, I will only mention the evil boyfriend here, Macabea I’m so sorry that you’re first and almost only exposure to love was with that piece of shit.
Anyways back to Macabea. This book felt like a sad depressing love letter to girlhood and I loved every page, genuinely some quotes made me almost tear up. The quote “so young and already rusted” (p.17) hit me where it hurt. Specifically this quote because I feel like so much of womanhood/girlhood (sorry if this is a generalization) comes from pain. The pain of puberty, the pain of rejection, not meeting beauty standards or not feeling good enough. Having all that at such a young age, for anyone regardless of gender, causes you to ‘rust’.
Lispector also speaks to this ‘all or nothing’ mentality that is so present in today’s world: you are smart or dumb, beautiful or ugly, exciting or boring – “some people have got it. And some people don’t”(17). I also did not find her boring at all. Yes, she has a somewhat boring life where she feels like she doesn’t have a lot to say, but the narrator (I know not Macabea herself but still) has so much to say about her. Also, her ‘boring’ life is not that boring, it’s simply just everyday life. Not every day has to be extraordinary for it to be special and worthwhile. There is beauty and little luxuries hidden in every ‘boring day’ like having a coffee or sleeping in.
The quote “she missed being little […] and thought she’d been happy almost made me cry at the Nest. Again this feels like a sad love letter to girlhood. Looking back at old photos of ‘baby you’ in cute outfits playing with dolls and wondering where the time went. Lispector stop pulling at my heartstrings.
Macabea I promise you are not boring! You will never be cold coffee to me!!!
My question for discussion is- do you feel like Macabea reflects any challenges/experiences of girlhood?
Great post! I’m so happy you liked the novel as well. Most of the other blogs didn’t seem to like it that much hahaha :). Really interesting take on the novel being about girlhood I never really thought about it from that perspective. I think it definitely speaks to how poverty can dictate the girlhood that you get to have or the one that you desire as ultimately she wanted a girlhood that wasn’t her own.
Maya, I think pain is an interesting lense to see the novel through. There is so much of it in different forms and in most characters. In Macabea it is most obvious but I think the aunt, the doctor that treats her, the girl that leaves the card reader before her also struggle with it. Do you think that this commentary on all or nothing is Lispector’s or the narrative voice? I foundn interestinng htat you brought up luxuries because it is a recurring word in the novel.
Thanks for your comment!
Tesi
PS love the notes to Macabea!
I love the fact that you’re reading the book through this lens of girlhood and memory! It made me think about how I could read it differently or through this new appreciation for the main character and the struggles she went through. Maia D.
It’s so true that Macabea’s life isn’t necessarily boring; she’s just living an ordinary life! I appreciated your thoughts about how the experience of womanhood and girlhood comes from pain and thought this was a very interesting and real perspective that many people may resonate with.
I love how we have completely different opinions on the book, I think I was already so annoyed by the narrator that it completely clouded my vision of Macabea. Now that I think about it, she is kind of relatable and unbothered. We stan
I really like how you point out Macabea is not boring. Even though the narrator might treat her like she is, I thought she had interesting thoughts on religion and that her love of advertisements was a fun part of her personality.
Your title made me chuckle. I ended up liking this book as well! I too was crying over Macabea, I wanted her to win in the end. I loved your take of girlhood, it opened up a new perspective for me 🙂
– Julia Wouters