Reading Notes W14: Lispector, Part B

Clarice Lispector, “The Daydreams of a Drunk Woman” (808-814)

Clarice Lispector:

·         “Reaching for an apple in the dark, claims Brazilian modernist Clarice Lispector, demonstrates the limits of our knowledge: we know that the object is an apple but a little more. Its color and ripeness shrouded in obscurity-tantalizing there and not there at the same time” (808).

·         1920-1977

·         She is a pivotal figure in modern Brazilian literature

·         She was born December of 1920 in Tchetchelik, Ukraine

·         “best known as a writer of intense, tightly structured short stories that portray the external world through a character’s innermost thoughts and feelings and that emphasize sensuous perception to attain intuitive knowledge beyond words” (808).

The Story:

·         “The title disposes of the protagonist in a few words: she is an alcoholic, and she imagines things” (808-809).

·         There is more to this story because as readers, we are meant to dive deeper into the meanings behind her choices in life and what caused it, etc.

·         Chances of not knowing her identity, loss of self, etc.

·         Destructive lifestyles and choices.

·         “Lispector’s prose evokes the existential dilemma that the young woman feels and half understands” (809).

Quotes:

·         “had her husband and little ones been home, the idea would already have occurred to her that they were to blame. Her eyes did not take themselves off her image, her comb worked pensively, and her open dressing gown revealed in the mirrors the intersected breasts of several women” (809). Already in the beginning, we see her struggle with identity issues and we can already see some deep-rooted issues. She wants to blame everyone else, but no one is home so it is like she has no choice but to look in the mirror and see herself and the many things wrong with her. She is obviously unhappy and hates her life.

·         “And everything in the restaurant seemed so remote, the one thing distant from the other, as if the one might never be able to converse with the other. Each existing for itself, and God existing there for everyone” (812). She sees everything in a negative light and everyone seems selfish and self-serving to her, like there is nothing worthwhile.

·         “Certain things were good because they were almost nauseating…the noise like that of the elevator in her blood, while her husband lay snoring at her side” (814). This is a rather concerning view of the world. In her eyes, things can only be good if they’re nauseating, like having money even if you are unhappy.