MIGRATION AND VIOLENCE IN DESESTERRO, BY SHEYLA SMANIOTO

Abstract

The contemporary novel Desesterro, by Sheyla Smanioto, brings in its statement the pain of several Marias spread across Brazil and the world. The work tells the story of four generations of women who live on the margins of society, inserted in a cycle of physical, psychological, sexual, financial and moral violence. This violence is perpetrated by the only male character in the work, which leads them to subordination and oppression, even ceasing to have the right to choose their lives and their own bodies. The objective of the study, then, is to analyze, in the course of the character Maria Menina, present in Desesterro, this reality of violence and abuse against women, that is, the representations of this violence, as well as its possible meanings. This violence against women is rooted in our patriarchal society; however, the perspective brought by the author presents women and their pain as elements capable of giving new meaning to social relations and their set of values.