Quarto de Despejo e Cartas a Uma Negra: diálogos possíveis sobre interseccionalidade e decolonialidade

Abstract

This dissertation aims to analyze the works Quarto de despejo: diário de uma favelada (1960) by Brazilian writer Carolina Maria de Jesus (1914 - 1977) and Cartas a Uma Negra (1978) by Martinican author Françoise Ega (1920 – 1976), focusing primarily on the projective dialogue between their authors. Besides, it searches to reflect on the potential pioneering nature of black feminism within their narratives regarding the convergent elements in the portrayed stories, particularly those such as gender, race, class, and diaspora, which result in processes of discrimination, marginalization and silencing of black women. These hypotheses evoke intersectionality, a term coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, and decoloniality, with Françoise Vergès as a prominent scholar, as crucial theoretical frameworks for the discussion intended by this research. With the release of Quarto de despejo, written in the form of a diary, the black author, a slum inhabitant, a single mother of three children, and a paper collector Carolina Maria de Jesus catalyzed unprecedented transformations in Brazilian literature, so that the work was translated into 14 different languages, a process that made its French translation reach Françoise Ega. The Antillean author, who moved to France during World War II, where she worked as a housemaid, being also an activist for humanitarian causes, was overwhelmingly moved by the story of the Brazilian writer, deciding to write a set of letters – which were never sent – to Carolina Maria de Jesus, to tell how their stories, especially in their daily pains and obstacles, were similar, what originated Cartas a Uma Negra. During the process, it was possible to verify, as research results, the diversity of dialogues between the works, especially in the intersectional and decolonial fields. The narrative of the writer from Minas Gerais reveals her strong resilient profile, resisting the intersectional processes of marginalization that afflicted her life, composed of factors such as racism, sexism, and classism, providing a deep and plural understanding of the life of a black and poor woman in Brazil. Through the narration of the same subalternation mechanisms that victimized Carolina Maria de Jesus, the Antillean Françoise Ega also enables a deep understanding not only of her own story but also of the experiences of Caribbean black women in a post-colonial context, where one can also observe stances of cultural and identity confrontation to colonial power structures. The dialogue between the books contributes not only to views of the harsh realities of black and poor women’s lives, but also to the strength and courage they exhibit facing adversities, what highlights the emergency of decolonizing knowledge in opposition to dominant narratives that, through stigmatization and proscription, promote the silencing and exclusion of black women. Therefore, reading and discussions about the works are essential for debating gender, socioeconomic classes, and racial inequalities not only in the academic sphere but also in basic education, reinforcing the importance of literature in deconstructing oppressive and dehumanizing mechanisms, based on elementary teaching-learning processes.