Motherhood Aspects in Carola Saavedra’s novel Com Armas Sonolentas

Abstract

Carola Saavedra’s last novel, Com Armas Sonolentas, triggers a debate around the issue of motherhood in Brazilian contemporary literature. According to Julia Kristeva’s proposed definition of motherhood in the book Hatred and Forgiveness, I propose analyzing the novel from the strangeness characterized by this experience, considering the tension over the phallus primacy. I also seek to establish reflections on the intertextuality between the title of the novel and the verses by the religious poet Inés de la Cruz in the poem “Primero sueño”. Based on the research carried out by Octavio Paz in Sor Juana, Or, The Traps of Faith, I approximate Saavedra’s suggested motherhood, throughout three generations of women, to an experience of living space which encompasses the writing life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz writing.