“Miséria esquelética e esfarrapada”: a figuração do nordestino migrante nas obras O Quinze e A Hora da Estrela

Abstract

The following monograph compares the books O quinze (1930), by Rachel de Queiroz, and A hora da estrela (1977), by Clarice Lispector, considering the figuration of the northeastern migrant present in them. The research is justified by the absence of literary criticisms that compare these works on the theme of migration, along with the necessary discussion about the idealization of migrants from this region, generally associated with stereotypes in the media and the arts. Before the analysis, we discussed part of the literary criticism directed at the authors, especially through the ideas of literary generation presented in Bosi (1970), Gil (1997) and Camargo (2001), as well as a discussion, in chapter 3, about the definition of migration, whose chapter was built based on articles selected from a database and fictional narratives that reflect about drought and migration. Regarding the methodology, we rely on narrative considerations present in Leite (1985) and Friedman (2002) to interpret the plot and characters included in the studied books, also taking up the theoretical reflections of the mentioned chapters. Thus, it was possible to see that the works dialogues with social stereotypes about migrants, for example, those stereotypes that they are considered dirty, hungry, and exotic. The main difference noted in this comparison was concerning the use of truth as a literary object, as Lispector’s work ironizes and questions these stereotypes, while Queiroz’ work suggests definitions of this group of people, which can contribute to stereotyping.