Morrer aos 40, morrer ainda menina

Clara Nunes, mídia e finitude no Rio de Janeiro urbano (1983)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5935/2177-6644.20250025

Abstract

On April 2, 1983, after a coma resulting from anaphylactic shock caused by the anesthetic used during varicose vein surgery, singer Clara Nunes died at the age of forty. The 28-day period during which she was hospitalized in an intensive care unit was extensively covered by the press at the time. Despite her status as a public figure, reading newspapers and magazines from the period reveals some changes in Brazilian society's perception of death. On the other hand, thousands of Brazilians became familiar with the routine of an intensive care unit and a new way of dying, in which patients who had already given up hope had their lives artificially sustained by a machine.

Author Biography

  • Maria de Fatima Rocha da Fonseca (PMRJ), Prefeitura Municipal do Rio de Janeiro

    Teacher in the municipal school system of the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias. Tour guide. Bachelor's degree (1997) in History from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Bachelor's degree (2006) in Tourism from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL/Portugal). Postgraduate degree (2009) in Brazilian History from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), and Master's degree (2023) in History from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). Member of the editorial team of the journal M – Studies on Death, the Dead, and Dying (https://seer.unirio.br/revistam). Affiliated with the Brazilian Association of Cemetery Studies (ABEC), where she organizes visits to public cemeteries in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Her research focuses on the history of the Brazilian Republic, specifically on the history of death, funeral customs, the history of intensive care units (ICUs), mass communication, and historical and cultural heritage.

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Published

2025-11-17

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2025): "Em vida, morte, te sei": olhares interdisciplinares sobre a finitude contemporânea (séculos XX-XXI)

Section

Dossiê | Special Issue | Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2025 TEL Tempo, Espaço e Linguagem

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