Open Books Chicago discussion

Those who look for answers in fiction need not apply to the world of Lispector. The weak of stomach or stone-like in conviction should also tread lightly, for Lispector is an all-consuming force that offers immediacy and visceral sincerity without concern for one's readiness.

Written and published in Brazil, while Lispector was 19-24 (depending on the account you read), Near to the Wild Heart is a novel that examines the internal life of Joana. Joana's life, taken at face value, could be enough for a modern novel. The loss of her father, a blurred recollection of an encounter with a teacher, an unhappy marriage with a man who has an affair with his ex that results in pregnancy, and the eventual release of Joana from a normal life into true freedom would be enough to fill a large volume. Lispector, however, deftly uses less than 200 pages to bring a story of one woman's quest for authenticity and a self-made philosophy of being to the surface of the page. Her blistering prose and poetic musings are enough to leave both Joana and the reader with a burning.

While not much happens on the surface, the reader experiences everything Joana feels as she searches for a happiness that she laments, though never really accepts. One of the tenets of her philosophy is that "movement explains form," yet her movements seem to be a familiar circle toward and from the yearning for experience.

I found myself equally drawn to and repelled by Joana's internal focus and continued lament. Her achievement of the conventional happiness she continually rebels against only furthers her fruestration. Despite Joana's continued fumbling and self-conscious examination of her mistaken actions and thoughts, she takes responsibility for her tragic state. While she doesn't subscribe to the conventions of societal morality nor make excuses for her movement or thought, she also does not blame the others in her life for her state. This steadfast amoral characterization of Joana is not only a difficult realization of modernist prose and the tragedy of what it means to be trapped within oneself with one's own responsibility, but also a challenging triumph of feminist fiction that rings truer than anything by Woolf. The complexities of Joana's struggle to define herself in terms unrelated to the men in her life are not dismissed. Her lack of remorse is complete and without agenda.

Beyond all of this, Lispector does not have to be dissected and examined to be enjoyed, because as the reader follows Joana (who is difficult to sympathize with yet ultimately relatable), her observation of difficult emotional truth is pure poetry. Joana's lack of remorse is primary as a motivator in her own life. Her observation and essential lyrical sincerity is primary in consuming the reader.

When you are consumed, you do not need answers. As Lispector's characters are fully formed through the movement of their thoughts, I was moved through Lispector's form and unique style.

2013 will be the year of Lispector for me. I certainly feel no remorse for that.