Ranai Patterson

‘Laços de família’ explores human experiences and emotions through the different representations of
conventional relationships and introspective narratives, which allows for defamiliarisation and
questioning of Brazilian society. This extract talks about Ana, who upon having an epiphany starts to
question herself and her humble role as a housewife in society, seen through the juxtaposing language
and changing setting alongside the quick pace used to describe the wildness of the garden, which
challenges the calm harmony she is used to.

This extract in ‘Laços de família’ uses a juxtaposing perception of the setting at the beginning and end of
the extract to convey the distortion of Ana’s perception of her life. The extract begins by describing the
afternoon as “clara e redonda”. Through describing the afternoon as “redonda”, it creates a sense of
repetition and familiarity, reflecting Ana’s expectations of her day and tasks. This, contrasted with the
“fascinante” night, which is described as “cheio, pesado”, reflects the changes of Ana’s expectations.
The night is dark, and it is unclear what may be ahead, however the uncertainty and opportunity to
experience raw emotion is what attracts Ana. Uncertainty is further highlighted through “quase” to
describe the night, suggesting that Ana is on the brink of leaving all she knows to be true and venturing
into the unknown, yet is undecided and still questioning her path.

Short simple sentences are used throughout the extract, in conjunction with long extended sentences to
set the fast pace of Ana’s overwhelming internal state. This fast pace may be representative of the
intensity of Ana’s introspection with the longer sentences possibly foreshadowing how her realisation
and questioning of her sense of self may never end, continuing to create uncomfortable feelings for her.
The short simple sentences may also reflect the simplicity of her life and self-understanding before her
encounter with the blind man, which are now compressed between the extended sentences of the
uncontrollable nature, showing her conflict. The contrasting sentence lengths, like the contrast from the
clear afternoon to the heavy night suggest that her simple emotions and perception of life are no longer
clear but are tainted by the heaviness of an alternate path full of unbearable richness and discovery.

Lispector’s use of natural imagery which is becoming distorted could express the representation of
conventional relationships also being distorted throughout ‘Laços de família’. Lispector describes nature
as imposing and powerful, through the hyperbolic description of nature such as “um poderoso gato”
potentially symbolic of her own perception of herself – like a domestic cat, she may have perceived her
importance in her home as essential and dominating, which is only now starting to be disturbed upon
seeing the wildness and chaos of nature. The cat which “estava imóvel”, could be paralleling Ana’s state
of limbo in discovering herself and the ugly truths about her unchanging role as a housewife in society.
The chaotic language used to describe nature such as “um enxame de insetos” could reflect Ana starting
to find conventional relationships where she is constantly required to carefully maintain order as
overwhelming and reflects her struggling attempt to blindly continue with her way of life. Insects’ ability
to quickly spawn and multiply reflects the quick pace of the story – it could also reflect Ana’s internal
conflict to follow her path as a housewife, focused on reproducing and eventually allowing herself to be
consumed by her duties. By

Lispector also uses the lexical field of death to project Ana’s yearning for self-discovery, stating “o
assassinato era profundo”, indicating that her introspection was intentional almost as if she were killing
her previous outlook on life through her process of deep introspection and exploration of human
nature. The repetition of “apodrecido” used to describe the richness of the fruits and the world, could
be alluding to the greed of society with the simile “doces como mel” used to describe the fruits still on
the tree and reflecting the societal hierarchy. The abundance of sweet fruit on the tree contrasted with
“no chão caroços secos cheios de convoluções”, may illustrate the over ripeness of the fruit causing
them to fall, representing Ana’s perspective on her role as a housewife as all-consuming and her
newfound desire to abandon the sweet simplicity of her daily duties. The use of dim colours such as
“pretas” to describe “as frutas” and “mau ouro e escarletes” to describe “as pequenas flores”, heightens
the motif of decay as Ana’s previous perception of herself and oblivion to an alternate path is decaying
following her epiphany. The Biblical references to the beauty of the “Jardim” and Ana’s fear of “Inferno”,
also creates a conflict for the reader as sensory language is used throughout the extract to imitate Ana’s
appeal in discovering the messy truths about her place in society, which leave her feeling “nojo” - there
is a sense of ambiguity as to whether Ana will embrace her self-discovery and the discomfort that comes
with it, as seen in the Garden or will return to the familiarity in her life which appears as Hell, given that
upon entering the garden, “estremecia” and she could still “sentia o seu cheiro adocicado”, similar to
the sweetness of the unsoiled fruits left on the tree. The use of Biblical reference also furthers Ana’s
internal conflict as, similar to the Garden of Eden, the beauty and foreignness of the Garden despite
being tempting on the surface, may be flawed, leading to a path of lifelong regret and discomfort for
Ana.

The punctuation aids Lispector in taking the reader on a journey with Ana, understanding her process of
… and allowing themselves to question society and the world around them too. The narrator questions
“De onde vinha o meio sonho pelo qual estava rodeada?”, creating a sense of limina

Ultimately, Lispector, through her use of...