Fazendo a egípcia: a transexualidade e o duplo em do fundo do poço se vê a lua, de Joca Reiners Terron

Abstract

This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between contemporary Brazilian literature and themes related to it, especially transsexuality and the construction of the double. This investigation will be mainly focused on the analysis of the transgender protagonist and narrator Cleopatra, in the novel Do fundo do poço se vê a lua (2010), by the Brazilian writer Joca Reiners Terron (1968-). Given this objective, and using a historical approach to homoerotic literature, we assert the social importance of this theme in the novel. The narrative is understood, therefore, as a proponent of new discussions on transsexual identity in the Brazilian society. Moreover, we discuss the surgical process of sexual reassignment undergone by the character Wilson, who later becomes Cleopatra. These nuances emphasize the fact that the minority groups that Cleopatra represents constantly face an identity and a sociocultural denial in Brazil. Such conflicts are investigated through the lens of Bento’s ideas (2006, 2008, 2012, 2017), which help us to establish a link between the novel and Brazilian society. The double present in the work, blatantly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "William Wilson" short story, suggests a new discussion of character formation and the peculiar ambiguity of Terron's Cleopatra. This research is underpinned by Bakhtin’s ideas (2011, 2014) on the aesthetics of verbal creation; by Judith Butler (2000, 2013) on Gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of the identity, which provides a better understanding of issues related to character complexity and identity formation; and finally by Otto Rank (2013) on the theme of Doppelgänger, in his book Double, that brings key elements related to the construction of the character that we analyze. This research thus investigates the link between literature and current social issues regarding gender, identity and transsexual subjectivity, in order to argue that the transsexual character, despite erasing the marks of her adjustment, suffers from homophobia rooted in the Brazilian society.