O corpo feminino sob escrutínio: narradoras em contos de Márcia Denser

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the representation of the female body in Márcia Denser's short story collection, elucidating the construction of narrators and the relationships established between body and language in the author's fiction. In this context, this research highlights the short stories that comprise the corpus of this work: "Relatório Final" (Final Report), "Gladiador" (Gladiator), present in Diana Caçadora (Diana the Hunter), originally published in 1986, in addition to the short stories "Latin Over" and "Luz Vermelha" (Red Light) which are part of the short story collection Tango Fantasma (Phantom Tango), originally published in 1976, and finally, the short story "O último Tango em Jacobina" (The Last Tango in Jacobina), which is part of the work Toda Prosa II: contos escolhidos (All Prose II: Selected Stories) (2008). The literary analysis is anchored in gender theories and feminist studies, based on authors such as Judith Butler (2018), Teresa de Lauretis (1987), Michel Foucault (2013; 2019), and Elizabeth Grosz (2000). Contributions on feminine writing are also incorporated, from Hélène Cixous (2002), Michele Perrot (2019), Elódia Xavier (2021), and Nelly Novaes Coelho (1991), and on narrative theory from Gilda Neves Bittencourt (1999), Norman Friedman (2002) and in light of the concepts of scopophilia and male gaze proposed by Laura Mulvey (1975), we examine the self-reflexive gaze that the protagonists direct toward their own bodies, which materializes both the process of identity construction and the aspiration to subvert the meanings historically imposed by the hegemonic male gaze. The questions that guide the research are: how do narrative modes influence the representation of the female body and sexuality? How do these narrators see themselves and are seen within patriarchal culture? The results indicate that the narrator characters subvert traditional views of women, transforming the body and sexuality into instruments of symbolic power and critical reflection. It is concluded that Denser's writing reaffirms the importance of addressing feminine experiences from women's perspectives, contributing to deconstructing cultural paradigms and valuing narratives aimed at feminine emancipation. The research reinforces the relevance of the articulation between body, language, and narrative focus as a way to expand the debate on gender, power, and representation in contemporary literature.This translation maintains the academic tone and specialized terminology while making it accessible to English-speaking readers. The abstract effectively captures your research's focus on how Márcia Denser's female narrators challenge traditional representations of women through their embodied narratives and subversive storytelling techniques.