Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian writer seen as the most innovative of her century. This document discusses a collection of her writings from 1967-1973. During this period, Brazil was under a military dictatorship that overthrew the democratically elected president in 1964 out of fears he would make Brazil more like communist Cuba. Lispector's writing never supported the repressive military regime and she protested against their actions. The document analyzes two of her short stories, "Torture and Glory" about a young girl's pursuit of a book, and "In Pursuit of Pleasure" about how real suffering is preferable to forced pleasure under a dictatorship.

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Selected Chronicas (Timothy Marshall) Pierce College

2. Selected
Chronicas
By: Clarice Lispector
Translated by Giovanni Pontiero

3. Historical Context
● This book is a collection of Lispector's aphorisms, diary entries, reminiscences,
travel notes, interviews, serialized stories, essays, and loosely defined chronicles.
● Clarice Lispector was seen as the most innovative Brazilian writer of the century.
● 1937 she moved to Rio when she was twelve, during that time Getulio Vargas was
the dictator.
● This selection of writings takes place through 1967-1973
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4. Political Context
● 1963 Joao Goulart assumed full power in Brazil, became President.
● His efforts of trying to “create” a better Brazil, got the U.S’s attention.
● Brazilian military and the U.S. government were worried about Brazil becoming a New
Cuba. (Brazilian military were anti-communist)
● Lower class praised Goulart, but middle/upper classes and the military wanted
intervention and restore
“democracy”(americasouthandnorth.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/on-this-date-in-latin-
america-april-1-1964-brazils-military-dictatorship-begins/)
● April 1st 1964, the military officially overthrew Goulart and the coup began.

5. Political Context (Lispectors involvement)
● Clarice Lispector returned to Brazil in 1959, after living in Europe and the U.S. as a
diplomats wife.
● Mid 1960’s during the coup, she was an author for Jornal do Brasil, she wrote mostly
fiction.
● She wrote many short stories, and novels and they never went towards the military
regime and the regression of the people of Brazil.
● However she joined many artists with protesting against the repression.

6. Torture And Glory Pg. 1
● Point of view
- the point of view for this short story is in First person. She starts with her experience as a child in Recife
Brazil. Lispector at the beginning describes the antagonist, by using pronouns such as she. Then later in
the story uses “I”
“She was fat, short and freckled and her hair was much too frizzy.” (Lispector pg. 1)

7. Torture And Glory Pg. 1
● Tone
- the mood of the story starts with sorrow, by explaining the characteristics that the
antagonist portrays herself as. Then leads to excitement, the reason it was exciting
because Clarice as a young girl wanted to read a book that the antagonist never bothered
to read. She said that the book can be borrowed by her, she just had to pick up at her
house. Day by day she showed up and the book was never there. The tone starts to
ascend into sadness and disappointment followed by desire for the book. Until finally she
receives the book and the tone ends with surprise.

8. Torture and Glory Pg. 1
● Protagonist is Clarice Lispector as a young school girl. Her attitude starts with a gloomy
perspective, she describes the antagonist like you can already tell how the story is going
to play out.
● “She did not appear to benefit much from this good fortune; the rest of us even less
so”(Lispector pg. 1)
● “She found ways of and means of being vindictive”(Lispector pg. 1)

9. Torture and Glory Pg. 1
● Plot: Pyramidal
● Begins with the description of the antagonist, how a fat, short, freckled girl who had bust,
while the others were flat chested.
● Describes how her father had a bookstore, and she did not benefit from her good fortune.
● Lispector found out she possessed a book called, The Adventures of Little Snotty, (As
reinacoes de Narizinho)
● Antagonist said she can borrow the book, she showed up to her house everyday to collect
the book.
● Day by Day she showed up to her house to retrieve the book only to find out everyday
she came that the book was not there.
● Day by day she began losing hope, but still came to the house for the book.
● Til one day she came and found her mother standing at the front door, she found out the
reason why this girl showed up everyday for this book.
● In horror the mother was ashamed of her daughter, the book never left the house.
● Once she got the book, she was dazed and surprised. Returning home she never opened
the book, or read it. She just held it, “I was no longer a little girl with a book: I was a
woman with her lover” (Lispector Pg. 3)

10. Torture And Glory Pg. 1
● Theme
The theme to my eyes is Socialism, how the difference between classes, although this did
take place before Brazil’s coup, the issues between lower and upper classes was
escalating.
● Symbols
The title, “Torture and Glory” and the book The Adventures of Narizinho

11. In Pursuit of Pleasure Pg. 191
● Point Of View
The Point of View starts with a first person perspective.
Describes her interpretation of the pursuit of pleasure and the obstacles that are
included. The need for pleasure or the want for pleasure is the question, Lispector tries to
endure.

12. Pursuit of Pleasure Pg. 191
● Tone
It starts with sadness, and with a want. That people want to pursue pleasure, but have to
deal with the troubles along with it.
With the want of pleasure, one has to set aside the awareness of suffering.
“And so much suffering, sometimes even unawareness, because one is in pursuit of
pleasure” (Lispector Pg. 191)

13. Pursuit of Pleasure Pg. 191
● Plot
This short story is very short, the plot to my perspective is episodic.
It starts with suffering, and the want for pleasure to one’s self. Then you see others in the
semi-darkness wanting pleasure but it doesn’t come to them.
At the end at the story, she says, “No, real suffering is better by far than forced
pleasure”(Lispector Pg. 191).

14. Pursuit of Pleasure Pg. 191
● Theme
The theme would be oppression, how people are forced into dictatorships. Lispector gives
a brief and clear description of how real suffering is better than “forced Pleasure”
● Symbols
Pursuit of Pleasure- The pursuit of a new order
Suffering- Real suffering, is more acceptable than forced “pleasure”

15. My Interpretation
Selected Cronicas is a collection of Clarice Lispector's writing. Her writing, even though they were separate
short stories, the stories gave me an in depth look into Lispector’s mind and ideas. I chose the short story,
“Torture and Glory” because I was really in awe of the social class issues even before the coup. How Lispector
had high hopes of receiving that book but still had a sense of doubt every time she showed up to that house.
“Pursuit of Pleasure” I chose this because this has to do with repression, my interpretation is that although a
new order has been established, what makes people want to be forced into this “pleasure” would they rather
deal with real suffering, such as heartbreak, a broken bone, or even a scratch on your car, then to be forced into
something (dictatorship) Lispector uses analogies to express her emotions, and I feel very close to her and can
relate to what she is saying. “No, real suffering is better by far than forced pleasure”(Lispector Pg. 191).

16. Works Consulted
Luana Ferreira de Freitas, and Cynthia Beatrice Costa. “Clarice Lispector’s Internationalization:
The Brazilian Author’s History in English.” Cadernos de Tradução, vol. 37, no. 2, Universidade
Federal de Santa Catarina, May 2017, pp. 40–54,
https://doaj.org/article/930042877e87416a8d49dff817fc2275.
Buttes, Stephen. “Anti-Literature: The Politics and Limits of Representation in Modern Brazil and
Argentina by Adam Joseph Shellhorse (review).” MLN, vol. 133, no. 2, Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1 Mar. 2018, doi:10.1353/mln.2018.0033.
“On This Date in Latin America – April 1, 1964: Brazil's Military Dictatorship Begins.” Americas
South and North, 2 Apr. 2012, americasouthandnorth.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/on-this-date-in-
latin-america-april-1-1964-brazils-military-dictatorship-begins/.
Levine, Robert M., and Crocitti, John J. The Brazil Reader : History, Culture, Politics . Duke
University Press, 1999.