Identidade e escrevivência: a vulnerabilidade da mulher negra nos contos "Maria" e "Zaíta esqueceu de guardar os brinquedos" da obra "Olhos d'água" (2014), de Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

This study is based on the justification that, after the abolition of slavery in 1888, Black people believed they would finally be free. Although they no longer had owners, their freedom was limited—especially in the case of Black women, who, despite leaving the slave quarters, continued to serve their masters in the big house. Thus, this research was developed with the general objective of analyzing, through the speeches of the characters in the short stories “Maria” and “Zaíta forgot to put away the toys,” the vulnerability of Black women as a determining factor in the construction of their identity, as revealed through the concept of escrevivência. As specific objectives, this study proposes: to analyze the work Olhos d’água (2014), by Conceição Evaristo, highlighting the fragility of the characters Maria and Benícia; to explore the concepts of identity and escrevivência in their social and historical context; and to reflect on the vulnerability of Black women as an obstacle to their social mobility.The adopted methodology is bibliographical in nature. Initially, the first chapter is dedicated to presenting the writer Conceição Evaristo, with an emphasis on her life path and professional work, as well as an introduction to the book Olhos d’água (2014), which serves as the object of analysis in this study. Next, the second chapter analyzes two short stories from Olhos d’água (2014), by Conceição Evaristo, highlighting the importance of individuality and lived memory in the characters Maria and Benícia. Finally, the third chapter discusses social vulnerability and its implications, showing how it hinders the social advancement of Black women, based on the words and actions of the characters analyzed. Theoretical support includes works by Barros and Balisa (2017), Cortês (2018), Cuti (2010), Cruz (2020), Figueiredo and Pinto (2013), Gonzales (2019), Hall (2003), Montgomery (1997), Pereira and Lisboa (2019), Ribeiro (2017), Santos and Silva (2022), Silva (2023), Scott (2018), Vasconcelos (2022), Viana (2021), Zinani (2006), among others. After the analysis, it was observed that Conceição Evaristo, through escrevivência in Afro-Brazilian literature, seeks to value the resistance of the Black community and to deconstruct social stereotypes, showing that writing is an act of narrating collective experiences marked by pain and achievements, as exemplified in the short stories of Olhos d’água (2014).