The Hour of the Star Discussion + Question

Something I found very intriguing about The Hour of the Star was its style of narration. Perhaps its the part of me that loves poetry, but the style of the narration came across as prose. Very early on, the narrator poses very large questions about life, consciousness, and what it means to simply exist. Based on these early themes my question is: How do we make sense of Macabéa’s death at the end of the story? Does her death lead to an interesting commentary on the core meaning of life and existence in the world?

At the end of the book, our narrator comes to the realization that everyone dies, even him. Perhaps this scene was a bit jarring after Macabéa’s drawn-out death, which spanned multiple paragraphs. Particularly the narrator’s departure when he says “Don’t forget that for now, it’s strawberry season.” (77) However, I think the abruptness helps strengthen Lispector’s central message of the book. No matter what type of life you lead, whether it’s seemingly as miserable and mundane as Macabéas, or as lavish as your favorite celebrity, nobody truly lives their life as if they are mortal. That is to say, no one wakes up thinking that this is the day that they’ll hit by a car. It’s an impossible expectation for people to have. Yet, even though it might seem cliche, death’s like Macabéas happen all the time. Perhaps not in the same way, but they certainly happen.

A sad example of this was the passing of Clayton Geib during the Fall semester, whose cause of death still isn’t fully known. His death was particularly hard for one of my friends on the football team. In our conversations following Clayton’s death, my friend told me that it was hard for him to really accept Clayton was gone, and that he was soon trapped in a cycle of telling himself, “I just played with him (Clayton) yesterday” and other similar comments for almost weeks on end. I believe Lispector tried to get at this concept with having Macabéa die so suddenly at the end.  Not only is contemplating our own mortality something everyone struggles with, but it’s not something we like to do, as evidenced by the narrator saying, “don’t forget that for now, it’s strawberry season.”

Personally, I thought the last quote reflected a sentiment reflected in one of my favorite Kanye West lyrics: “If you admire somebody you should go on ‘head tell ’em,
people never get the flowers while they can still smell ’em “

The Hour of the Star discussion question and response?

“What was the author’s purpose of having Macabea’s death be so sudden, and so insignificant?”

The ending of the book has Macabea die from a Mercedes. Throughout the book, the author keeps demonstrating how insignificant Macabea is, how ugly she is, poor she is, in poor health, mentally slow and ignorant etc. Most of the time, deaths in literature that are emphasized are usually significant, but hers was so sudden and she was marked as insignificant. Why have her die at all? The symbolism, reason, and descriptions around her death are interesting and difficult to decipher.

Macabéa’s Abuse

Question: What is the justification for both Macabéa’s acquaintances and the narrator to verbally abuse her?

A major theme of the novel are the physical and psychological effects on Macabéa placed on her from her poor living conditions. She in an underpaid typist with poor skills and is constantly verbally abused by her boss (13). The majority characters in the novel emphasize this point, from her ex-boyfriend Olímpico de Jesus allowing his hyper masculinity to cut off ties with Macabéa for days because he failed to lift her up (44) or shutting down her dreams of being a film actress (45), to her co-worker Gloria insulting her makeup (53). The sole time Macabéa rejects these insults is towards Gloria’s insult. Aside from this exception, Macabéa consistently endures insults and condescension from her peers, often times unable to understand that comments directed at her were negative. Her abuse has been normalized since childhood, considering her relationship with her aunt who would beat her head to prevent a life of vagrancy (20).

These relationships are the foundation for Lispector’s portrayal of lower class Brazilians. The novel draws attention to how Macabéa is treated and systematically held back due to her weak educational background. However, Lispector’s own narrator subjugates Macabéa further by insulting her while telling her story. This unreliable narrator refers to her as a stray dog (10) and unwanted coffee (20), while still proclaiming their love for her (21). The purpose of these insults is to emphasize the idea that even the one telling the story is not free of bias, that even though they are not directly interacting with Macabéa, they still view her as lesser for her educational and economic status. Classist sentiments are allegorized in the final scene, in which an upper-class, foreign born driver of a Mercedes hits Macabéa, ultimately killing her (74). The lack of the driver’s concern for her wellbeing, along with the fact that no one actively tries to help her find medical assistance, drives home the justification for her abuse; Macabéa is inherently worth less than other Brazilians for her economic status.

The Hour of the Star Discussion Question

Question: How does Lispector show masculinity in the character of Olímpico?

Ultimately, the need for power is woven through all of Olímpico’s desires and actions. He seeks to increase his power over others, be them women (Macabéa and Glória) or men above his social and economic standing. To do this with the former, he constantly puts down Macabéa to inflate his own ego, reducing her power in their relationship to increase his own. His approach with Glória is different, but still hinges on proving his superiority and demanding her submission. This is seen in the scene where he eats a hot pepper to impress Glória, as Lispector writes, “the nearly unbearable pain nevertheless toughened him, not to mention that Glória terrified started to obey him. He thought: didn’t I say I was a conqueror?” (56) Lispector continues, noting his desire to improve his social standing, wealth, and physical strength. With the latter, that is men above Olímpico’s social and economic standing, he attempts to make himself appear more prosperous than he actually is, donning a watch, calling himself a “metallurgist” (36), and showing possession of the right woman.

The Hour of the Star

How does Macabea’s interaction with Madame Carlota reflect early attitudes toward women in Brazil?

The Macabea’s interactions with Madame Carlota are symbolic of the larger attitudes towards women in Brazil for several reasons. One, this interaction shows a clear exploitation of Macabea’s insecurities and vulnerabilities. Carlota targets her by first telling her of a life of pain and disappointment, but then immediately changes course to explain that Carlota’s life will be happy and fulfilling (66). While the specificities of the exchange are not as importance, the way that the author shows Macabea’s immediate acceptance shows a commentary on the perceived naivety and submissiveness of women. Her inability to notice the complete turnaround in her life as part of Carlota’s scheme to exploit money from her also reinforces this notion. Furthermore, Carlota’s reasoning for asking for payment, namely that “everything [she] earns as a card-reader [she] gives to an orphanage,” and Carlota’s acceptance of that excuse also shows the association of trustingness with femininity (68). While this scene specifically shows how the author was commenting on the perceptions of women in early Brazil, Macabea’s other interactions also show those stereotypes. For instance, her interactions with her boyfriend, Olimpico de Jesus, shows the idea of trustingness. Despite his lying about most aspects of his life, she still believes and accepts him without question (36). Thus, this novel provides important commentary on gender stereotypes in Brazil and in a larger context.

(Explosion): Change in Hour of the Star

Question: What is the purpose of “(explosion)” in the novel?

Throughout the novella, the narrator interjects his own commentary to explain what he means or to add that he does not like writing, Macabéa, any of the other characters, and various other opinions. He does this by either incorporating some paragraphs in first person to show that it is his mind or by adding remarks in parentheses at the end of a paragraph or in the middle of a sentence. However, there are many times that the narrator interjects “(explosion)” in the middle of a sentence and offers no explanation for it. This may be because the author himself does not know what he means, which is entirely plausible as he says many times that the writing is “above and beyond [me]. [He’s] not responsible for what [he’s] now writing” (63). Nevertheless, whether the narrator understands it or not, the word was included and therefore means something in the grander scheme of the novel. I argue that the interjection symbolizes moments of change or realization in Macabéa’s life.

This realization came first on page 33 of the novella, when Macabéa exclaims: “Ah month of May, never leave me again! (Explosion)”. This occurs after Macabéa stays home from work for the first time and learns about her own body. Her body and its features are things that she had ignored her entire life, so here, she is becoming more of a person, something that the narrator alludes that she is not. Later in her life, Macabéa decides to go to the doctor after eating too much chocolate and being in pain. Here again, there is an explosion (57). Not wanting to be a burden or presumptuous, she had never gone to the doctor before. Although she does not grow much here as it is told to us that she does not get her prescription, she is still taking steps to become someone larger than an obedient pure girl whose convictions even she does not understand. Finally, arguably the most important explosion, is when: “Macabéa’s eyes were opened wide as if by a sudden voracity for the future” (67). This is one of the largest points that the narrator attempts to make. Before, he was adamant that she had no future because poor, sad girls with no realization of who they are did not have futures nor did they think of futures. This, then, is the biggest change and realization that Macabéa has: her acknowledgement and hope that she has a future.

The explosions, then, are an explicit manner of telling the reader that something is changing, both in the repetitious actions and in Macabéa’s personality. Rather than readers assuming and debating points of change in Macabéa, the author lays it out neatly.

Hour of the Star Discussion Question

Question:  How does the narration style influence how reader’s see both the narrator and how the story is interpreted?

Throughout The Hour of the Star, the narrator is a central character that invokes strong emotions through the style of narration. Within the telling of the story, the narrator both reveals details about himself as well as others. I found it interesting how the narrator uses words to sort of paint pictures of the story. One example is on page 26 when the narrator discusses aspects moving in slow motion, so he elongates his words. How does this imagery help the reader to visualize the scene? In my opinion, these various techniques help to create real emotions in the reader, such as frustration in my case.

Hour of the Star Discussion Question

Question: How does treatment toward Macabea reflect the gender roles ans sexuality within Brazil during this period?

Throughout the novel, themes of gender and sexuality in Brazil are present. Macabea, the main character, is an innocent and unaware young woman in Brazilian society. Her virginity is constantly referred to by the narrator and by her ex-boyfriend Olimpico.  For example, there are several times throughout the book where Olimpico says the only reason he is not using bad words to refer to Macabea is because she is a virgin (41; 46; 53). Another time gender and sexuality is brought up is when Macabea asks Olimpico what “elegebra” is, in which he responds that only queers know elegebra (41). When Macabea  further questions Olimpico on topics she learned by listening to the radio that Olimpico didn’t know, Olimpico would question whether a virgin should be saying those words in the first place (46). Sexuality is also mentioned when Macabea gets excited while looking at a photo of Olimpico, in which she responded by praying to calm down. Gender roles are also addressed for men when Olimpico tries to pick Macabea up and drops her, which leads him to feel embarrassed (44). Gender roles for women were evident when Macabea was cleaning herself up after the fall as  she used her skirt and did not want Olimpico to watch her because it was not lady-like (44). All of these examples show that it was excepted for women to be docile, pure, and abstinent. It also shows that men were expected to be physically strong and intelligent.

 

 

Discussion Question: Hour of the Star

Question: How does Macabea evolve from alienation- if at all?

Macabea is a complex character in that she is alienated by people that one would generally assume to be including her. Her family and boyfriend have tendencies to alienate her. Not as surprisingly, people outside of her socio-economic class alienate her. In an effort not to spoil anything in the blog post (not sure how far people have read), I will not be giving exact examples. However, Olímpico, the boyfriend, gives the reader a perfect example of alienating Macabea. Her feelings that follow Olímpico and Gloria, as well as Gloria’s feelings are all a result of alienation. This is difficult for the reader to analyze because the question if she can overcome this alienation is present. As the reader, I personally am cheering for Macabea to over come this form of adversity and beat out those who alienated her.

 

 

The Hour of the Star Discussion Question

Discussion Question: What is the point in calling this Macabea “stupid” or “dumb” at times.

Response:

So from reading the text, there are various examples where the narrator takes a step back and talks about Macabea’s life. It strikes me as she is trapped in this situation and she can’t escape due to her lack of abilities. Like I understand the story is trying to present this girl as the main focus but at the same time, its constantly berating the character. But it doesn’t seem very practical while trying to explain her importance. I suppose its all symbolism because at the beginning it briefly mentions that she is one of many that came from the northeast to settle in Rio de Janiero. She is one of many from the northeast that migrated to Rio de Janiero, so theoretically maybe that is an assumption made about northeasterners? I’m not entirely sure.