Escrevo a miséria e a vida infausta dos favelados: Carolina Maria de Jesus, interseccionalidade e escrita de si

Abstract

This article investigates the life and trajectory of Carolina Maria de Jesus in the Canindé favela during the 1950s, aiming to understand, through her writing, the interfaces between race, class, and gender in this author's work. It also intends to analyze, through these categories, the precarious living conditions in which Carolina Maria de Jesus found herself. In a scenario marked by poverty and various difficulties, she gained a voice after the publication of the book "Quarto de despejo: diário de favelada," in which, through sensitive writing, she narrates her daily life in the favela where she lived. Through the trajectory of Carolina Maria de Jesus, this research also analyzes the historical and social moment in which this figure lived, demonstrating the limitations and barriers faced by Black women during that period. For the construction of this work, we used as a source the diary written by the author, in which she presents her experiences as a Black and peripheral woman, aiming to understand how she used writing as a tool of resistance, giving voice to her experiences and denouncing the social and racial inequalities she faced. Adopting a theoretical perspective that analyzes the dimension of the struggle for existence and life through self-writing, based on a broad and in-depth review of her life, including other books such as "Casa de Alvenaria," this work presents partial results of ongoing research, pointing to the existence of studies that highlight the importance of literary works where records serve as instruments of the struggle for life and the valorization of Black women's voices.