The Hour Of Star
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Latin Literature
Research essay on Clarice Lispectors, The Hour of the Star.
As Clarice Lispector was writing what would become her last literary creation, The Hour of the Star, little did she know that while her body was plagued with the devastations of cancer, her mental struggle for peace and grace in death would inspire her most renowned novel. Perhaps it is because of those circumstances, she created a novel with intuitive reflections on both life and death, as seen through the life of the main character, Macabea. The story is narrated by Rodrigo S.M., and although Rodrigo attempts to maintain a neutral stance, he is often conflicted by his own perceptions and feelings. At the books commencement Rodrigo spends quite some time explaining that while the story is mainly about a woman, having the book narrated by a female would weaken the richness of content. He explains that a woman is incapable of clearly emphasizing the harshness of reality; that she is too emotional and attempting to explain the life of a wretched girl would be hard because her emotions would not allow an unbiased depiction of the cruelties of life. Macabea is introduced in the novel as a poor girl who does what she must to survive in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. She is, Rodrigo remarks, nothing out of the ordinary. Physically there is nothing about Macabea which sets her apart from the other countless street rascals who live hand to mouth. He then provides readers with some of her early life history, including how she almost died at birth because of rickets, and how both her parents succumbed to typhoid fever when she was a toddler. Finally after their death Macabea was forced to move in with her aunt, who too eventually passed away, but not before procuring the child a job to support herself. In the course of the novel the popular culture, though vague and metaphorical at times, affects Macabea and the secondary characters personalities and actions.
It should be mentioned that the story uses a myriad of figurative and metaphoric imagery. Throughout the novel the narrator injects his own views, often leading the reader to a deeper questioning of the story as it unfolds. He frequently speaks about what would happen if the main character were to do things in a different way. Also, through the interjection of varying levels of foreshadowing the reader gets a sense of where the story is headed. At one point the narrator says “were I to touch the girls bread, the bread would turn to gold – and the girl, the girl would be unable to bite into it, and consequently die of hunger.” (15) Literally read this statement is difficult to dissect. However if we look at it in the figurative sense we begin to perceive the deeper meaning. Prior to this statement the narrator talks about how he cannot use big succulent terms, lest the reader become confused and not be able to understand what is being said. Without that understanding the reader would become perplexed and the essence of the novel would be lost. So stating it in this particular way, by symbolizing simple words as bread and more complex words as the gold, the narrator is explaining figuratively how the author plans to carry out the novel. Thus, by keeping things simple the author has a better chance of the reader grasping her intent and following the story line, causing the symbolic starvation to be avoided. This use of language “figuratively” keeps the reader on his/her toes.
In the story culture plays a key role in shaping the lives of all the characters. The culture of the novel seems similar to present day, western world culture where women use there looks and sensual movements to attract and be adored by men. On the flip side the men show off there masculinity and use sweet words in an attempt to charm woman. The characters Olimpico and Gloria, Macabeas co-worker, fit this description as a couple, causing it be ever more apparent that Macabea falls short of societys definition of femininity. Internally she wants Olimpico to like her, she wants to look beautiful and attractive, but she just does not know how to externalize these emotions. Practical factors like her failure to bathe regularly and her foul body stench do nothing to help her meet the cultural ideal. Adding to her perversion of the accepted norm is the fact that based on her up bringing, insecurities, and lack of education Macabea finds it almost impossible to carry out a simple conversation. She mutters a few words and then becomes lost in herself. After meeting with Olimpico only a few times she eagerly waits for him to propose to her. This clearly shows her meager knowledge of the opposite sex and the flow of adult life in general.
Throughout the novel, Macabeas cultural influences seem to be the immediate people in her life. As the story progresses the reader sees that although Macabea seems lost with in herself, she is often weak minded and easily influenced by others. Once an idea comes to her she cannot seem to let it go and “Macabea clings to whatever belief system she can find to help her through her painful and humiliating life, and proves astonishingly resilient” (Martin 349). One can easily imagine that this frailty of self was created by her aunts constant insistence that Macabea do exactly as she was told. There is an example where her aunt told her that if she eats a particular food it will be bad for the liver, even though in reality it has no effect on the liver. After Macabea eats that item she soon begins to have pains in the liver area. Did this occur because the item truly was dangerous to the liver or was it because her submissive nature is so strong that her mind can convince even her body of something? At another time in the novel the passage reads “perhaps because of the chocolate…Macabea felt unwell.” (66) This clearly shows that Macabea is greatly influenced by what her aunt had told her. Even Gloria has enough authority in Macabeas life to get her to go see a doctor and even a fortune teller, and she eventually “ends up killed by a fast car just as she begins to dream of a Hollywood-style happy endings for herself.” (Martin 349)