Abstract
In this dissertation I explore the voice of the nordestina through the literary and cultural analysis of three different migration stories told by Marilene Felinto´s The Women of Tijucopapo (1982), Clarice Lispector´s The Hour of the Star (1977), and Helena Parente Cunha´s Woman Between Mirrors (1984). The cultural and historical context in which they are writing correspond to the opening to democracy (abertura) phase within the military coup from 1964-1984 in Brazil. Through their stories, these women writers respond to different contexts of marginalization and silencing that are products of an ideal of nation commonly propagated by authoritarian regimes. “WeMigration” conceptualizes the framework that guides my analysis, inspired by Marilene Felinto´s story of reverse migration. Therefore, remapping means to question and challenge official discourses and representations that has a history of erasure of women´s voices and racialization. Through the exploration of the transformative element of displacement in these different types of migration, I discuss the intersection of gender, race, social class and geography. Chapter 1 comprises mythical reverse migration as claiming of an identity and a manifesto of the nordestina voice against racism and misogyny in Brazil. Chapter 2 explores the resistance of the nordestina through geographical and metaphysical displacement to debunk racialization myths of Northeast Brazil and the nordestina identity. Chapter 3 explores psychological migration through the self-reflections of the female protagonist in the mirror while raising questions on colonial and patriarchal context in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. My critical analysis focuses on the writers´ poetics and ethics to amplify marginalized voices from the Northeast by transforming the female objectified body into the subject of enunciation.