Facing the Other in Clarice Lispector's Short Story "Amor"

Author(s): María Clark

Source: Letras Femeninas, Vol. 16, No. 1/2 (PRIMAVERA-OTOÑO 1990), pp. 13-20
Published by: Asociacion Internacional de Literatura y Cultura Femenina Hispanica
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23020927
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 Facing the Other in Clarice Lispector's
Short Story
"Amor"

Maria Clark
The University of Tennessee

Clarice Lispector's work has received foremost critical attention in the

context of existential literature with an examination of ontological rather
than social issues. Lagos de Familia, a collection of short stories published
in 1960, however, critically examines family relationships which in the form
of a social tie draw the boundaries of the individual's existence. Due to this
shift from the existential dilemma to the analysis of the subject's position in
society, the stories evaluate roles and stereotypes of women and offer a rich
field for the feminist critic. Feminist critical approaches to Lagos de Familia
have produced studies in technical strategies and the symbolic functions
assigned to the female protagonists and explicitly refer to the presence of a
male/female opposition which generally remains unobserved when the
critical focus is strictly humanistic and, supposedly, non-sex-linked.1
The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the short story
"Amor" within the framework of Lacan's theory of subjectivity, which is
crucial for the understanding of gender division and patriarcal norms of
sexuality. The main feature of the Lacanian psychological model is the sym
bol of the phallus which, as transcendental signifier, creates categories of
presence and absence that in turn result in sexual division and the roles the
human subject has to accept within the cultural order. Often referred to as
phallocentric, Lacan's theory rather offers a descriptive model of patriarcal
society and exposes gender consciousness as a product of discourse and
social processes, and as a construct of language, as precarious and shifting
as the linguistical sign. Lacan's impact on literary criticism is due to the con
cept he shares with post-structuralist literary theories, "that it is language
and its shifting play of signifiers with which we create the arbitrary
categories of our reality and our ever-escaping identity."
In his discussion of the Lacanian psychological model, Terry Eagleton
refers to the importance of Lacan's interpretation of the Freudian un
conscious which is no longer "some kind of seething, tumultuous, private

13

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14 Letras Femeninas, Vol. XVI, Nos. 1-2 (1990)

region inside us, but an effect of our relations with one another" (173).
Lacan outlines several stages in subject formation, such as the entry into
language and the acquisition of sexual identity, which constitute interna
lized processes and the site of the unconscious. As Lacan himself says: "The
unconscious is the chapter of my history which is marked by a blank or oc
cupied by a falsehood: it is the censored chapter" (cited by Mac Cannell
87).
Closely linked to the unconscious is Lacan's concept of the Other. As a
key-term in the analysis of Lispector's story "Amor," it requires close at
tention. Readers of Lacan often refer to the Other as the mirror or inverted
image of the self, however, it has to be understood as part of the symbolic
order of language and the law, and therefore responsible for the self's en
trapment between self-consciousness and the desire for an original whole
ness and undifferentiation. According to Juliet Flower Mac Cannell, it is
with the entry into language that narcissistic desire appears in the idealized
form of the Other (71). The Other as a principal, however, already operates
at an earlier stage, the mirror-stage, which Lacan places in the imaginary
order. In contrast to the symbolic order of language and the law, the imag
inary order is the stage of ego-identification. The mirror-stage coincides
with the moment when the infant confronts its mirror image and, guided by
the mother's ensuring gaze, recognizes a coherent self in the reflection. Kaja
Silverman, in her study of the Lacanian subject highlights several implica
tions of the event. First, "the subject arrives at an apprehension of both its
self and the other . . . indeed, of its self as the other," second, "that reflec
tion enjoys a coherence which the subject itself lacks ... it is an ideal
image" and third, "the mirror stage is one of those crises of alienation
around which the Lacanian subject is organized, since to know oneself
through an external image is to be defined through self-alienation"
(157-58). The described imaginary identification continues to organize expe
rience once the subject has entered the symbolic stage where language and
the socially mediated moral order constitute the Other. Jacqueline Rose
refers to the Other as holding the "truth" of the subject since "subjects in
language persist in their belief that somewhere there is a point of certainty,
of knowledge and of truth. When the subject addresses its demand outside
itself to another, this becomes the fantasied place of just such a knowledge
or certainty. Lacan calls this the Other—the site of language to which the
speaking subject necessarily refers" (32). The title of this paper "Facing the
Other" therefore refers to an instant when the Other, the fantasied place,
reveals itself as a void that reflects on the self its own alienation and lack of
wholeness.
The story "Amor" is structured around the climatic moment of
epiphany, a literary term referring to a technique which, according to Rust

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Clark 15

Hills, "claims importance by claiming nothing; it seeks a presentation so

sharp that comment by the author would be an interference. The author
abandons himself and the reader to his material" (22). This definition ap
plies to Clarice Lispector's use of epiphany in "Amor" and its effect of
unstated meaning which creates the moment of action in the story and con
fronts the protagonist and the reader with the manifestation of normally
unconscious mechanisms at work in the construction of what we accept as
subjectivity.
In "Amor" the microcosmos of the family provides the context for the
critical confrontation of the Other at the moment of epiphany. In Ana, the
protagonist, the working of cultural mediation is manifest in the way she
identifies with her role as mother and house-wife: "For caminos tortos,
viera a cair num destino de mulher, com a surpresa de nele caber como se
tivesse inventado" (Lagos de Fami'lia 20). Characteristic of the position of
woman in patriarcal society, as well as in the Lacanian theory where, due to
the phallic division, the female subject defines herself through lack, and
even motherhood has only patriarcal meaning, Ana sees her existence of
nurturing intimately related to a cosmic process where she "fazia
obscuramente parte das raizes negras e suaves do mundo. Ela alimentava
anonimamente a vida" (21). The metaphor of the mirror-stage which depicts
the misrecognition of the self in an ideal representation, also describes how
Ana constructs a fictitious self through the identification with her role:
"Alimentava anonimamente a vida. Estava bom assim. Assim ela o quisera
e escolhera . . . Ana respirou profundamente e uma grande aceitagao deu o
seu rosto um ar de mulher" (21).
Woman, however, is conspicuously absent in a description of her daily
life where "a cada coisa se emprestaria uma aparencia harmoniosa; a vida
podia ser feita pela mao do homem" (20), just as she accepts social reality
as natural. The influence of cultural mediation in Ana's sense of identity
and self-fulfillment also reflects on her recollection of her youth as "uma
doen?a de vida," "uma exalta^ao perturbada que tantas vezes se confun
dira com felicidade insurportavel" (20). Abandoning a life in pursuit of
such an ambiguous happiness, she settles for the culturally prescribed norm:
"Criara em troca algo enfim compreensivel, uma vida de adulto" (20-21)
and "encontrara uma legiao de pessoas, antes invisiveis, que viviam como
quem trabalha—com persistencia, continuidade, alegria" (20).
There are, however, moments in Ana's daily routine when her existence
not only appears as the result of a choice, but also as the rejection of possi
ble alternatives: "Certa hora da tarde era mais perigosa. Certa hora da
tarde as arvores que plantara riam dela. Quando nada mais precisava de sua
for^a, inquietava-se" (20). Ana has learned to combat these recurring
moments of self-doubt by setting out on a shopping-trip to keep herself oc

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16 Letras Femeninas, Vol. XVI, Nos. 1-2 (1990)

cupied until the return of husband and children. Her return from such a trip
one afternoon, taking a seat in the tram "num suspiro de meia satisfa?ao,"
"as compras deformando o novo saco de trico" (19) begins the narration of
her story. During the course of the epiphany which will follow, the objects
she has purchased take on an important role in the symbolic representation
of an instant of self-loss she previously had been able to fight. Although the
moment of epiphany is sustained over several paragraphs in the text, the
following fragments should demonstrate the effect of a sudden manifesta
tion of repressed meaning for the protagonist and the reader: "O bonde se
arrastava, em seguida estacava . . . Foi entao que olhou para o homem
parado no ponto . . . Era um cego . . . Inclinada, olhava o cego profunda
mente, como se olha o que nao nos ve. Ele mastigava goma na escuridao.
Sem sofrimento, com os olhos abertos . . . Ana olhava-o. E quem a visse
teria a impressao de uma mulher com odio" (21-22). Ana's confrontation
of the blind man has the drastic effect of unbalancing a universe where ob
jects and functions and therefore herself, have properly assigned meanings.
In Lispector's symbolic language, the network that defines Ana's existence
is coming apart like the threads of her shopping-bag: "A rede perdera o sen
tido e estar num bonde era um fio partido; nao sabia o que fazer com as
compras no colo" (23). Suddenly the vision of her surroundings reflects a
decentered world where "expulsa de seus proprios dias, parecia—lhe que as
pessoas da rua eram periclinantes, que se mantinham por urn minimo
equilibrio a tona da escuridao—e por um momento a falta de sentido
deixara-as tao livres que elas nao sabiam para onde ir. Perceber uma ausen
cia de lei foi t?ao subito que Ana se agarrou ao banco da frente" (23).
There is no explanation in the narrative as to the cause of the blind
man's unsettling effect on Ana's psychological equilibrium. Rather, the im
age of the man's blindness seems to imply the intrusion of an absolute
otherness in Ana's experience, an otherness that defies meaning since it is a
blind gaze, a void, she confronts. This effect is intensified by a facial ex
pression she cannot identify since it describes a reflex instead of aiming at
communication: "Ele mastigava goma na escuridao . . . O movimento da
mastigafao fazia-o parecer sorrir e de repente deixar de sorrir, sorrir e dei
xar de sorrir—como se ele a tivesse insultado" (22). Within the Lacanian
framework of subjectivity, Ana's crisis can be seen as analogous to the crisis
of alienation the self undergoes with the entry into language when ego
identification gives way to a split subject which in turn results in the forma
tion of the unconscious. In the story the presence of the blind man repre
sents a symbolic manifestation of a normally repressed mechanism that
allows the self to function as a subject. In Juliet Mitchell's words the Laca
nian subject is a being that can only conceptualize itself when it is mirrored
back to itself from the position of another's desire (5). As mentioned

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Clark 17

before, in the mirror stage it is the mother's gaze that assures the existence
of a unified self as it appears in the mirror image. With the entry into
language this fantasied coherent self gives way to the "I" of discourse. It is
an alienating "I" because it has to adopt an ambiguous sign-system as only
possible self-reference and expression of demand, and it is at this stage that
the Other as external image of the self coincides with the socially mediated
law as the site of power and truth. Self-recognition in the symbolic stage of
language therefore is another misrecognition since it results from the blind
acceptance of the power-position of the Other.
The moment of epiphany with the appearance of the blind man in
Ana's world thus supplies a visual image of what is normally concealed
from consciousness: the void behind the Other as point of reference in
discourse and social reality: "O mal estava feito. For que? Teria esquecido
de que havia cegos? A piedade a sufocava (23). It is significant that Ana
chooses the word "piedade" as label for her clashing feelings. On the level
of language, the symbolic order, she tries to make sense out of sentiment,
however, applying the signifying system of language implies value-creation.
The altruistic term "piedade" conforms with the ideological demand placed
by the Other as the site where narcissistic desire changes into the
metaphorical form of love and sacrifice. The formulation of such a
"positive" feeling, nonetheless does not release her from her psychological
upheaval. In order to understand Ana's self-loss which she perceives as
"uma ausencia de lei" in her surroundings, it is important to interpret the
unstated meaning of her epiphany, the confrontation with the blind man, as
coming face to face with the Other as a void and therefore, with the am
biguity of the signifying system or, what Lacan calls the "sliding of the
signified beneath the signifier" (Eagleton 168). Just as the blind face refuses
interpretation, the stable signifiers associated with the symbolic order give
way to radically opposing emotions: "O que chamava de crise viera afinal.
E sua marca era o prazer intenso com que olhava agora as coisas, sofrendo
espantada" (23-24).
The following description of Ana's crisis allows for the deconstruction
of the concept of "amor," the cliche-laden title of the story, and introduces
a male/female opposition which feminist critics have identified as an impor
tant characteristic of Lispector's narrative. In a state of complete disorien
tation Ana has left the tram and entered the Botanical Garden. Ambivalent
feelings not only describe the reaction towards the image of the blind man,
but also affect the experience of her environment which takes on the sym
bolic character of the Garden of Eden as the site of the primordial split into
the binary opposition of good and evil: "O Jardim era to bonito que ela
teve medo do Inferno" (27). In a constant effort to stabilize the oscillating
extremes of "nojo" and "fascinaao," desire and repression that arise from

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18 Letras Femeninas, Vol. XVI, Nos. 1-2 (1990)

a confrontation with unidentified forces, but nonetheless manifest in the

tropical exuberant nature of the Garden, Ana experiences "piedade" and
"misericordia," and most of all fear of her own aggression which she
recognizes in the life around her: "Fazia-se no Jardim um trabalho secreto
do qual ela come?ava a se perceber . . . O assassinato era profundo. E a
morte nao era o que pensavamos" (25-26). The visual images of the Garden
point to the presence of a domain outside the hierarchical value system she
knows: "Ao seu redor havia rui'dos serenos, cheiro de arvores, pequenas
surpresas entre os ci'pos . . . Tudo era estranho, suave demais, grande
demais" (25). In her imaginary completeness as mother and wife, Ana iden
tifies with her ideologically defined sexuality directed towards the nurturing
role. The world of the Garden, however, threatens to undermine her sense
of responsibility as well as the security of a limited existence: "Ao mesmo
tempo que imaginario—era urn mundo de se comer com os dentes, um
mundo de volumosas dalias e tulipas . . . Quando Ana pensou que havia
crianas e homens grandes com fome, a nausea subiu-lhe a garganta, como
se ela estivesse gravida e abandonada. A moral do Jardim era outra" (26).
It becomes apparent that Ana's temporary alienation from her former
life not only reflects self-doubt, but the presence of censured desire and the
temptation to reject the structure of the symbolic order which makes it im
possible for her to define meaning outside the values of the patriarcal
discourse. This discourse absorbs her again once she returns to her apart
ment, although, "por um instante a vida sadia que levara ate agora pareceu
lhe um modo moralmente louco de viver" (27). The demands of children,
husband and dinner guests ensure Ana's return to her former life but, while
still under the influence of the dramatic encounter with the shifting values
of a decentered system of signification, she lives through an evening "em
que a piedade era tao crua como o amor ruim" (30).
Ana begins to organize the past event by comparing her feelings with
the "imaginary" ideal form of love she has been taught to identify with:
"De que tinha vergonha" E que ja ngao era mais piedade, n?ao era so
piedade: seu cora^ao se enchera com a pior vontade de viver" (28). In her
analysis of Ana's incapacity to participate in activities of discourse and the
consequent "silencing of her most vital self" (44), Naomi Lindstrorn refers
to Ana's "strange interchange with her son" when she tells him: "A vida e
horrivel" and "Nao deixe mamae te esquecer" (28). It is during the interval
of these two phrases, however, that Ana entertains thoughts that could
disrupt the very family structure: "O que faria se seguisse o chamado do
cego? . . . Iria sozinha . . . Havia lugares pobres e ricos que precisavam dela.
Ela precisava deles (28). In the course of the evening which involves Ana in
her housewife duties, the vision of the blind man begins to fade: "O homem
pouco a pouco se distanciara e em tortura ela parecia ter passado para o

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Clark 19

lado dos que lhe haviam ferido os olhos" (28). The image of Ana, par
ticipating thus in her own blinding or "castration," since there is no
equivalent term for the stifling of female self-directed desire, announces her
losing battle against a cultural law that defines femininity according to its
functions within the patriarcal order: "A vida do Jardim Botanico
chamava-a como um lobisomem e chamado pelo luar . . . Estou com medo,
disse sozinha na sala. Levantou-se e foi para a cozinha ajudar a empregada
a preparar o jantar" (29).
Ana's story ends with her reintegration in the family structure where
she fulfills her symbolic task of complementing the binary structure of
patriarcal power. As Mother she not only confirms the potency of the
Father, but also represents its opposite, the cultural construct of femininity
which places her in relation to her husband in the following stereotypical
position: "Ela continuou sern for?a nos seus bra?os" (31). Adequately, the
representation of patriarcal ideology is found in Ana's husband who "num
gesto que nao era seu, mas que pareceu natural, segurou a mao da mulher,
levando-a consigo sem olhar para tras, afastando-a do perigo de viver"
(31). The husband thus fulfills his symbolic role in a system which
transcends the biological difference that, paradoxically, is the foundation
of a value oriented difference between the sexes. As Silverman points out,
"the identity of the subject is sustained only through the constant repetition
of the same identifications by means of which it first finds itself" (161),
and, as Lispector shows in "Amor," both the family structure and family
discourse furnish the images which carry the ideological weight of the sym
bolic order.
For the feminist critic the question arises why Lispector, who so aptly
describes the negative function of family ties, does not conceive of a female
protagonist who actively subverts the family structure. The reason may
stem from her acute awareness of the importance of language in subject and
role formation as this study has attempted to show by the application of
Lacanian theory to one of her stories. Both "Amor" and the Lacanian
model reveal the limitation of female selfhood in patriarcal society as a pro
duct of the underlying symbolic organization in binary oppositions that
structure language, psychological processes and social relationships. In
social reality, as well as in Lispector's fictional microcosmos, the entry into
the symbolic order perpetuates the confinement of woman in the image of
the counterpart to the male subject. Lispector, however, opens up this
binary opposition of patriarcal thought by uncovering a gap in the binary
structure with her deconstruction of the concept of "amor" as a cultural
construct that receives its meaning through the deferral of desire. During
the moments of her crisis, Ana is incapable of categorizing her violent feel
ings of fascination and nausea in terms of the absolutes with which lan

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20 Letras Femeninas, Vol. XVI, Nos. 1-2 (1990)

guage covers the distance between the signifier and the signified. On the
level of language she remains thus, as long as the crisis lasts, in a domain of
sliding signifiers which allow her to experience a sexuality usually
represented as lack.
As soon as the family structure restores for Ana the meaning of her ex
istence, she tries to interpret her "amor" in terms of the patriarcal value
system, although she is aware that "piedade" and "misericordia" are inap
propriate classifications for her feelings. Although Ana accepts her sym
bolic death at the end of the story: "Antes de se deitar, como se apagasse
uma vela, soprou a pequena flama do dia" (31), for the reader the powerful
picture of the blind man persists as a visual image of the Other which
defines for all of us meaning, self-hood and desire.

NOTE

' Naomi Lindstrom and Marta Peixoto explicitly refer to Lispector's questioning
woman's destiny in Lagos de Familia. For further study in the manipulation of narrative voic
refer to Lindstrom's article "Articulating Woman s Experience," Chasqui 8, I (1978): 43-5
Peixoto examines the function of symbolic roles in "Family Ties: Female Development,"
Fictions of Female Development, Eds. Abel, Hirsh, Langland, 1983.

WORKS CITED

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Press, 1983.
Hills, Rust. Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular. Boston: Houghton M
Company, 1987.
Lindstrom, Naomi. "Clarice Lispector: Articulating Woman's Experience." Chasq
(1978): 43-52.
Lispector, Clarice. Lagos de Familia. 5th ed., Eds: Paulo Gurgel Valente and Pedro
Valente. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 1983.
Mac Cannell, Juliet Flower. Figuring Lagan: Criticism and the Cultural Unconscious. L
University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
Mitchell, Juliet. "Introduction I" in Feminine Sexuality. Jacques Lacan and the ecole
dienne. New York, London: W. W. & Company, Pantheon Books, 1982.
Rose, Jacqueline. "Introduction II" in Feminine Sexuality.
Silverman, Kaja. The Subject of Semiotics. Oxford and New York: Oxford University
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