THE REPRESENTATIVENESS OF BLACK WOMEN IN BRAZILIAN LITERATURE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORK OF CONCEIÇÃO EVARISTO OLHOS D´ÁGUA

Abstract

This paper proposes to present an analysis of the short stories Olhos D´água e Maria, by Maria da Conceição Evaristo de Brito (2014), writer, novelist, short story writer, and poet, owner of several poems and seven books, five of them translated into English, French, Spanish and Arabic, with texts aimed at black female protagonism in contemporary literature. Black, poor and living in the favela, the daughter of a treadmill, her life was marked by poverty, she worked as a nanny and cleaner to pay for her studies, thus breaking barriers and stereotypes, demonstrating that her ability did not depend on gender or color. Our objective here is to discuss the prejudices represented through the characters in the short story Olhos D'água, highlighting the importance of black female authorship in literature. Methodologically, it is an exploratory and bibliographical research, with a theoretical basis that includes thinkers from Brazilian literature, among which the following stand out: Antonio Cândido (1995), Sueli Carneiro (2003), Djamila Ribeiro (2017), Lélia Gonzales (2019). In this way, it is understood, therefore, that the power of Evaristo's (2014) literature is presented by strong elements, with profound poetry, by opening a reflective look at ills, such as exploitation, racism, among other challenges, revealing the layers of discrimination faced by black women. Thus, the writer both contributes by giving voice to experiences lived by black women, and strengthens the black female movement, reinforcing the fight for social, racial and gender equality.