The legacies that come from the time of captivity

considerations on the experiences of black women in the novel Água de barrela (2018)

Abstract

This study, based on the Afro-Brazilian novel Água de barrela (2018) by the writer Eliana Alves Cruz, aims to unveil how the historical and persistent slave system not only determined and structured, but continues to shape a convergence of violence that Black subjects – specifically women – face in contemporary times. These manifestations of violence, even if transfigured, persist under the guise of so-called structural racism. Beyond its thematic relevance as a historiographical metafiction, the work presents the violence of the slave period and, consequently, the study shows how the new racial oppressions of modernity are updates of old forms of oppression, thus establishing a direct link with the slave period. The narrative of Água de barrela (2018) begins with the inhumane kidnapping and trafficking of Black people from the African continent to Brazil and, by alternating narrative focuses, the work shows how slavery had different impacts on different bodies. Given this context, the work addresses excerpts from the experiences of four women: Anolina, Martha, Damiana, and Dodó. Each of them represents diverse contexts in Brazil; consequently, they are affected by various manifestations of slavery and racism, acting as interpreters of a marginalized and decentered nation. Furthermore, the study shows how other systems of oppression, such as patriarchy, act in conjunction with racism in the subjugation of Black women. The study is theoretically grounded in postulates from Cultural Studies, Philosophy, and Sociology. This interdisciplinary theoretical foundation allows for a deeper understanding of racism as a system of oppression that directly impacts all areas of an individual’s life.