"A caligrafia de Deus": as formas de subalternidade que permeiam o conto de Márcio Souza

Abstract

This research aims to identify and analyze the forms of subalternity produced in colonized society and how they appear as aesthetic elements that constitute and structure the short story "The Calligraphy of God" by the Amazonian writer Márcio Souza. The study is based on the assumption that subalternity can manifest itself in various configurations, from physical aspects to discourses, and that such situations are present throughout the narrative, composing the plot and characters. Departing from this premise, we present the analysis from the post-colonial concept of subalternity, as proposed by Gayatri Spivak (2010), expanding the idea of subalternization and understanding it as all forms of consolidating domination over colonized groups and their cultures. Therefore, we discuss the colonial process as a cause for subalternization, as well as explore the hierarchy that configures within subalternized groups, primarily based on gender inequality. As the framework for this research, we draw upon the studies of Antonio Candido (2006) on the dialectic between literature and society, which elucidates how external factors become internal to the work. In the theoretical argument, to address subalternity, we turn to Gayatri Spivak (2010) and Antonio Gramsci (2007); sociologist Aníbal Quijano (2005) grounds the studies on coloniality, complemented by Frantz Fanon (2008; 2022) and Aimé Césaire (2020) who address the violence of colonization; Homi K. Bhabha (2013) and Stuart Hall (2013; 2022) guide the treatment of identity and culture in post-colonialism. Regarding the feminine, we base our analysis on bell hooks (2022), Gerda Lerner (2019), and Silvia Federici (2023), discussing the women's voice in patriarchal society, along with Eliane Potiguara (2018), who gives voice to the conditions of indigenous women. In conclusion, we find that Márcio Souza's short story is structured throughout its narrative with characteristics of racial imposition and gender inequality, featuring reified characters and discourses naturalized by colonialism.