Corpo e discurso: a escrita da maternidade em A filha primitiva, de Vanessa Passos

Abstract

This article examines The Primitive Daughter by Vanessa Passos, highlighting how the author’s writing addresses issues of motherhood, identity, and ancestry through a feminist critical lens. The protagonist, identified merely as “mother”, embarks on a journey of self-discovery and resistance to the patriarchal system that seeks to silence and define women. Motherhood is portrayed in an ambiguous light, serving as both a space of subjugation and reinvention. The absence of proper names for the characters symbolizes the loss of identity for black women, whose histories and ancestries are often erased. Structural and symbolic violence against black women runs throughout the work, with writing becoming a tool for resistance and the assertion of a new identity. The reflection on motherhood challenges the myth of maternal instinct, proposing a demystification of the traditional maternal role. In her quest for self-identity, the protagonist confronts societal expectations and, through writing, seeks to distance herself from the fate imposed upon her to reinvent her own existence.