The abandonment of the myth of the black mother in the works of Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

The representation of black women since the beginning of Brazilian literature has been done through several stereotypes. Using the premise “white to marry, black to work and mulatto to fornicate”, presented by Eduardo de Assis Duarte, several myths were spread within the literary tradition. Therefore, this work raises the myth attributed to the black mother who for centuries postulated the infertility of the black woman not being presented as the mother of her own children, and who, as a mother, should deny her own to raise the children of Big House. This idea has been challenged through Afro-Brazilian female literature, in which black authors, through the escrevivência, a concept coined by Conceição Evaristo, are representing a new black mother character. Thus, it is believed that it is important to explore works that go against the historical Eurocentric hegemony. For this purpose, analyzes of two works produced by Conceição Evaristo are proposed, the first being the poem “Vozes-Mulheres”, which was the author's first poem published in Cadernos Negros, and the second of the short story “The sacred bread of the children” , published in the book History of slight mistakes and similarities. To support the discussions and analyzes in addition to Eduardo de Assis Duarte, authors who deal with Afro-Brazilian literature will be considered with the concepts of Octávio Ianni, Luiza Lobo, and also Conceição Evaristo. In addition to Maria Lugones who talks about a decolonial feminism, and Grada Kilomba, Djamila Ribeiro who deal with the place of speech of the black within society, among other authors.