Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector; December 10, 1920 – December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer acclaimed internationally for her innovative novels and short stories. Born to a Jewish family in Podolia in Western Ukraine, as an infant she moved to Brazil with her family, amidst the disasters engulfing her native land following the First World War.
She has been the subject of numerous books, and references to her and her work are common in Brazilian literature and music. Several of her works have been turned into films. In 2009, the American writer Benjamin Moser published Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector. Since that publication, her works have been the object of an extensive project of retranslation, published by New Directions Publishing and Penguin Modern Classics, the first Brazilian to enter that prestigious series. Moser, who is also the editor of her anthology The Complete Stories (2015), describes Lispector as the most important Jewish writer in the world since Kafka.
(Wikipedia)
Lispector’s Struggle with Writing and Ethics
It is about an ethics of writing, about how writing can be true to life, to “a life,” without necessarily laying claim to the truth of that life. It is about the hesitations, affirmations, and disruptive explosions that mark any text as it tries to describe and negotiate the world.
See also the conversation video with Sonia Roncador.
- Lispector, Clarice. The Hour of the Star. Trans. Benjamin Moser. New York: New Directions, 2011.
On Clarice Lispector
A conversation about The Hour of the Star, with Sonia Roncador (University of Texas at Austin)
Lispector videos
Interview with Clarice Lispector – São Paulo, 1977 (English subtitles):
Clarice Lispector and Her Books 🇧🇷 (Legendas em português):
Benjamin Moser on Clarice Lispector:
Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of the Star (Lecture 1, Part 1):
Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of the Star (Lecture 1, Part 2):
THE HOUR OF THE STAR by Clarice Lispector – Book Review:
The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector: Careless Classics:
Hour of the Star (1985 movie)
A Hora da Estrela (filme completo):
Macabéa eats and drinks very little, but she likes Coca-Cola. Indeed, her taste for Coke is one of the few fundamental facts of her existence, something that anchors her in the world and gives her a sense of who she is: “When she woke up she no longer knew who she was. Only later did she think with satisfaction: I’m a typist and a virgin, and I like coca-cola. Only then did she dress herself in herself, she spent the rest of her day obediently playing the role of being” (27). In fact, the narrator tells us that Coca-Cola is sponsoring the novel, forcing his hand, making him finally embark on his story: “the account that soon is going to have to start is written with the sponsorship of the most popular soft drink in the world, even though it’s not paying me a cent, a soft drink distributed in every country. [. . .] This drink which contains coca is today. It’s a way for a person to be up-to-date and in the now” (15). As Thomas Waldemar observes, the narrator thus presents “Coca-Cola [as] the point of departure for his text.” Waldemar suggests that the notion that Coke would really sponsor a text such as this is “as laughable as it is preposterous” (“Imperfect Harmony” 103). But the claim shows that the narrator is not so far-distanced from Macabéa as he may like to think, and that not even a writer such as Lispector can ever entirely escape the consumer culture that Coke instantiates and represents.
Lispector questions
The following questions are taken from your blog posts…
On the Narrator
Did you enjoy having the narrator’s voices and opinions throughout the story? Or would you have rather appreciated a more linear and straightforward story of Macabéa?
Who do you think the narrator in The Hour of the Star is? How does his life intersect with Macabéa’s, if it does at all?
What, if any, do you think is the purpose or symbolism of the narrator, Rodrigo’s, recurring insecurity around blame, ethics, and perception? Claiming to be the only one who loves Macabéa and yet the one who fails to save her life, what, if anything, does Rodrigo owe her?
What do you believe Lispector hopes to capture in her decision to shift perspective on the opposite gender? Do you believe Clarice Lispector values honesty in her writing above all—the reason for her rebuking of established norms—or does she still enjoy the trickery and fooling readers a la Jorge Luis Borges?
Why would Lispector not want to be the narrator herself? Will there be a prejudice by the public if a woman were to portray such a heart-wrenching story of another woman? Did you find another instance where there was another savior other than men?
Did you see parts of yourself in the narrator (or Macabea)? If so, what? What do you think Lispector was trying to represent through the narrator?
On the Title
What is the star from the title and what might it symbolise?
If you could pick any title (of the titled listed from the front) which one carries that most meaning for you?
Which title fit the story in your opinion? Would it be a different story given a different title? Who do you think wrote the titles, Lispector or Rodrigo S.M.?
On the Characters
What did you think of the character of Macabea and her way of overcoming difficulties throughout the story? Was this character and her story inspiring u-in any way? Why?
Did you like or empathise with Macabéa?
What do you think Gloria’s relevance was in this novel? Did she highlight any themes, maybe those to do with femininity?
Other
What do you think the (explosions) in the text mean? Lecture mentions they may “indicate some hidden violence”, but do you think they could signal revelations or importance? Or maybe they’re just another element of weirdness added to keep the reader on their toes. Maybe you have better thoughts (explosion!).
What were your thoughts on the final chapter, with an emphasis on the strawberry season part?
How did The Hour of the Star make you think about your own life? Did it shift your perspective on the reality of living life to the fullest vs. a life of conformity?
What do you think Lispector was trying to say about masculinity, femininity, and gender roles?
What were the most impactful moments for you while reading this book?
Do you think there is any theme, statement, or message in this book that can be taken at face value as the voice of Lispector, or is everything called into question by its ironic, ambiguous style?
How do we see the different social classes represented in this story? What details seem to be associated with one’s socioeconomic status? What scenes in the story do you think best illuminate the theme of poverty/the differentiation between Macabea’s social class and Rodrigo’s?
Rodrigo S.M. and Macabéa struggle to find themselves and answer the question, “Who am I?” How would you answer their question? Also, do you have any recommendations for Lispector’s book?
I wonder if anyone else had any particular or surprising reaction to any parts of the novel?
