The figure of the subaltern woman in Machado de Assis

An analysis of the short story “Capítulo dos Chapéus”

Abstract

This work proposes a reflection on the representation of a subaltern figure in Machado de Assis, the character Mariana, from the short story “Capítulo dos chapéus” (1883). It analyses how the author, in the scope of representation, constructs a subaltern female subject and how he exposes the structures of power in a patriarchal society, in the context of the second half of the 19th century in Brazil. For this analysis, the following aspects of the character are considered: life story, physiognomic and psychological description and character in action. Also considered are the relationships that this character maintains with others and the image that she builds of herself from this interaction. It also seeks to understand how the narrator and other characters act in this process of figuration and to what extent they reveal this subordinate position assumed by Mariana. Machado de Assis is seen as a writer attentive to the issues of his time, attesting, the context of the patriarchalism of the time, male supremacy over women. The results also point to two typical procedures of Machado de Assis: that of using different perspectives to make his characters known and using significant details to reveal much of these characters.