The Pattern of Allusions in Clarice Lispector Author(s): Naomi Lindstrom Source: Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 36, No.

1 (Summer, 1999), pp. 111-121 Published by: University of Wisconsin Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3513993 Accessed: 23/07/2009 16:26
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The Pattern of Allusions in Clarice Lispector'

Naomi Lindstrom
Este ensaio examina as virias alus6es culturaisencontradas ficcao de Clarice Lispector na com o intuito de identificaro paradigmaque orientatais alus6es. Varios estudos recentes sobre a narrativade Lispectortentamidentificarna sua obra elementos que refletiriama origem judia da autora.Esses estudos trouxerama luz muitos aspectos que poderiamser vistos como sinais de uma herancajudaica, emboranenhumdeles possa ser interpretado como exclusivamente de origemjudaica. Lispector apoiou-se em elementos que formam parte tanto da tradiaio judaica, como da crista, e utilizou especialmente elementos criou um discurso que se apocalipticos e profeticos. Alem disso, a autorafrequentemente a enquadranuma tradi9comistica, mas que nio se relacionadiretamente nenhumareligiao em particular. uso de alus6es 6 coerentecom uma ideologia assimilacionistae sincretica Seu que se manifestaem alguns de seus depoimentospessoais.

The following is an examinationof the culturalallusionsin the fiction of Clarice Lispector (b. Tchetchelnik, Ukraine, 1920, d. Brazil, 1977). These include references to elements of religious cultures-the primary focus of this study-as well as to other traditions.In recentyears, a numberof studieshave appearedexaminingthe possible manifestations of Lispector's Jewish backgroundin her creativewriting. However, the present inquiry is not limited to elements that could be seen as traces of Jewishness.Rather,these features are examined in a more universal context as part of Lispector's wide range of culturalallusions. In Lispector's writing, her Jewishness remainssubmerged,covert, and ambiguous. Flora Schiminovich has a cautionaryobservationthat should be kept in mind by anyone searching for traces of cultural influence-particularly, the influences of nonmainstream subcultures-in Lispector's fiction. "As a writerof Jewish origin, Clarice Lispectorprobablycould not escape the past, the traditionthat goes back to the Bible. At the same time, she cannot be bound only to the past for she certainlybelongs among the groupof twentiethcenturyexperimentalfiction writerscharacterized theirsubversionof by logic, closure, and authoritarian points of view" (148). This generalprinciple applies not only to a possible Jewish strainin Lispector's writing, but to traces of any other cultural source. These manifestations may be expected to appear in heavily reworked form, transformedby Lispector's narrativeinnovations. Lispector's allusions to items that are specific to particularculturaltraditionsmay reasonablybe suspectedof making ironic and them in otherways. parodic use of these borrowings,or of transforming The inquiry into Lispector's cultural sources and intertexts often leads into biographical investigation (Vieira, Marting). While researchinto authors' lives and the circles in which they moved certainly has its place, this study examines Lispector's published fiction to identify its patternof links to differentculturaltraditions.
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ClariceLispecAmong LatinAmericanwritersfromJewishfamilybackgrounds, tor, with her playful and creativeuse of language and multiple meanings, is beyond doubt the best known. If she indeed manifestsher Jewish origin in her writing, she does so in an exceedingly cryptic manner.While Lispectordid not deny being Jewish, she downplayed
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the significance of this fact for her identityand in herwriting.This repression may verywell have been meantto makeherandherwork acceptableeven to readerswhose assimilationist, nationalisticoutlook would cause them to devalue a writerwho seemed "tooJewish."Many of Lispector's readers never realize that she was Jewish. Yet Lispector, who was indisputably the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants,has recently attractedcritics determinedto seek the traces of her family origin in her writing. Nelson Vieira, who has of been the most thoroughresearcher possible linksbetweenthe author'sJewishnessandher writing, discovered how little importanceLispector gave to her own background:"Sou judia, voce sabe. Mas nao acreditonessa besteirade judeu ser o povo eleito de Deus. Nao e coisa nenhuma ... Eu, enfim, sou brasileira,pronto e ponto" (Lispectorqtd. in Vieira, "Clarice Lispector" 117; see also Marting on Lispector's suppression of all but the mainstream Brazilianaspects of her identity).Nadia Batella Gotlib, in her 1995 biography researchesher subject's Jewish background, Clarice, uma vida que se conta, painstakingly but notes thatLispectorcould be not only reservedbut mysteriousabouther identity.In this biographer'stelling phrase, even when Lispectorappearsto be setting the record straight concerningher background,"langanovamenteum ar nebuloso sobre os fatos que relatou" (115). Vieira, however, observes thatone of Clarice's sisters, Elisa Lispector,revealsin her semiautobiographical novel No exilio (1948; rev. ed., 1971) the Jewish culturein which the family lived: "With its strong Jewish-Yiddishflavor, the novel reflects the social and culturalatmosphereof the Lispectorhousehold"("ClariceLispector"110). Vieirais not the with the meager to only researcher turnto Elisa Lispector'snovel afterbecoming frustrated Nadia Batella Gotlib informationClariceLispectorprovidedabouther Jewishbackground. accuratelysummarizesthe way that studentsof ClaricereadNo exilio: "Sob esse aspecto, o romancefaz parteda narrativa maior que compoea hist6riade Clarice,agoracentradana da familiajudaicaem emigracaoparao Brasil. Dessa forma,Elisa completaum retrato saga que Clarice nao fez" (121). According to Vieira, this home is one of the sources of the distinctive vision notablein Lispector'snovels (1 1). Afterestablishingthatthe Lispectors' fatherreadthe Bible and was concernedwith maintainingan intellectuallife, he concludes: "Thisearly contactwith Jewish cultureinfluencedLispector'suse of Hebraicpoetics in her in writing and, above all, her interestin mysticism,which is apparent Perto do coracao selvagem,A maca no escuro, A paixao segundo G.H.,Agua viva, and Umsopro de vida"(104105). One must admirethe tenacityand scrupulousthoroughnesswith which Vieirahas researcheda possible Jewish outlook in Lispector's writing. He finds it at an extremely abstractlevel, detecting in Lispector's narrative"Jewishculturalthinking, particularlyin relationto reinterpretation, and indeterminacy, unfulfilledontological quests"(132). In his analysis, "Herunconventionalprose is propheticbecauseit is open to meaningin a way that is reminiscentof Hebraichermeneutics"(149). Vieira concludes: "a linguagem e obra de Clarice Lispector refletem e respeitam a estetica da narrativabiblica, especialmente a retoricado Antigo Testamento,onde o poder concreto da palavra,a repeticaode palavras chaves e de uma sintaxe evocativa, mais o elementomitico, paradoxale ilogico apresentam ao leitor um estilo serio, sagradoe espiritual,pleno de enigmase perguntas" ("Linguagem" 48). Even so, Vieirawisely refrainsfromisolatingelements in her work thatareexclusively Jewish until he comes to A hora da estrela (1977). Vieira states that after this novel appeared,critics (such as Regis) began to recognize the Jewish tracein Lispector(112). Accordingto him, the work is markedby the "obliqueuse of Jewish myths. .. [and] symbolic use of the apocryphalMaccabeanlegend, personified by her protagonist Macabea"(112). Vieira identifies the reelaborationof a A Jewish legend: "In additionto its other approaches, hora da estrela addressesdifference

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by parodying a well-known Jewish myth-the story of the Maccabees-in order to deconstructtraditionalideas about faith,justice, and representation" (140). RobertDiAntonio also pointstoA hora da estrela as the Lispectornovel thatmost clearly alludes to Jewish culture.Like Vieira, DiAntonio sees a link between the heroine's name, Macabea, and the Biblical Maccabees:"In ... A hora da estrela (The Hour of the Star), 1977, she bases the book's thematiccontentsolidly on Judaicsymbology drawnfrom Old Testament sources ... The nominal Judaic symbology is employed ironically, for Macabea (a name that is almost nonexistent in Brazil) is as inert as her biblical namesake is aggressive" (56). However, the Jewish identificationis weakened by the fact that the novel contains no Jewish charactersor practices. The heroine explains that her mother named her "por promessa a Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte" (59), following a custom widespread in popularCatholicism;there is no reason why a Catholic woman should not have heardthe word Maccabee. The events of the novel never forge an overt link between her name and the Maccabees;criticswho make this associationrely more on the name itself than on the use-that is made of it in A hora da estrela. Nadia Batella Gotlib refers to Macabeaas being "de nome judeu" and from the Northeast.This biographerthen draws a parallel with Clarice Lispector, who lived in the Northeast "quandochegou da Russia, imigrantede familiajudia" (123). In contrastto the above critics, Regina Igel shows admirablecritical caution in avoiding an exclusively Jewish interpretationof the name. Instead, she asserts more precisely that "The heroine's name can be associated with the Old Testament."Noting Macabea's portrayal,Igel warns, "But the relationshipwith the Bible has only an ironic connotation";again Igel is accuratelyidentifying the link as belonging to the Bible rather than to Judaismas such ("ClariceLispector"350). Ruben Kanalenstein, during a general discussion among participants at a of abouttheJewishness Lispector's obserservations conference,madesome extemporaneous writing. His assertions, whose boldness and generality may be in part the result of their in and formulationduringa spontaneousexchange,were recorded have been reproduced the volume thatresultedfrom the conference(AMIA). Kanalensteincharacterizes Lispectoras "profundamente judia" and says in supportof this assertion: en Clarice Lispector [como en Kafka] el judaismo no es tematico:en sus obras esta implicito, pero muy presente ... Lo quiero ilustrar,por reflexi6n acerca ejemplo, con la obraAgua viva, que es una verdadera de la afirmaciondel tiempo, como diria Kovadloff, acercadel sentido del shabat... Lapasion seguinG.H., es un libro extraordinario trata que profundamenteacerca de la cashrut, de poder comer un alimento prohibido.... hay otro famoso cuento, 'El huevo y la gallina', que es un cierto artede leer entrelineas paraevitarla idolatria,y esto creo que es tambienel judaismo .... (in AMIA 180) Of the suggestionsKanalensteinmakes here, the most valuableone is that critics should abandonthe searchfor Jewish thematicmaterialin Lispector'snarrative.Consider, for example, that of all the characters Lispectordeveloped over her lengthy andproductive fiction-writing career, none is Jewish.2 It is worth considering that Igel's extensivelybrasileiros(1997) does not include researched,comprehensiveImigrantesjudeus/escritores discussion of Lispector's writing, though she is mentioned in connection with her sister Elisa's novel No exilio. Igel has delimitedthe scope of herstudyto includeonly writerswith Jewish subject matter,and Clarice Lispectoris not among them. Schiminovich also detects the possibility of something culturallyJewish in Lispector's writing,but she exercisescarein labelingtextualfeaturesas Jewish. She rigorously

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that could only indicatea Jewish influence and no other. refrainsfrom identifyingmarkers Schiminovich does well to examine Lispector'swritingwith a focus upon her interrelations tradition"(149), recognizing thatmany elements of her writing with "the Judeo-Christian also with interpretation), form thatcould be consideredJewish (mysticism, a preoccupation part of the Christiantradition.Her essay suggests that anotherway of approachingthe Jewish element in Lispectoris to view it as one of many currentsin a very hybridwriting (148-49). To pronounce some judgment in this debate, the quest for signs of exclusively Jewish influence in Lispector's fiction will never yield any really positive evidence. The that basic problemis the absenceof thematicmarkers cannotbe ascribedto any othersource but the Jewish one. She does not develop Jewish characters,and no such observancesor folkways appearin her writing. Vieira and othersonly glimpse an intellectualand spiritual Judaism,highly diffuse, that never manifests itself fully.
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I now examine Lispector'spracticeof borrowingfrom the Bible and from other or sources in a way thatcannotbe clearlymarkedas eitherChristian Jewish,butcommingles featuresof both traditions. Researchersconcernedwith tracinga possible Jewish influence in Lispectorare very aware of the dissimilaritiesbetween the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In Lispector'swriting,though,very little if any attentiongoes to the Jewishor Christianorigin of Biblical citations and allusions. The global categoryA Biblia appearsin her fiction, but she seldom specifies which testamentis being cited. Even if Lispectordoes not favorthe HebrewBible over its Christian sequel or vice versa, she does appearto treatcertaintypes of Biblical passages more positively and less ironically than others. Portions of the Bible in which prohibitions and constraints are formulated are most likely to come in for parodic treatmentor have their significance inverted. This tendency is not very surprising, given the importanceLispector's fiction molds. assigns to transgressionand breakingout of standard The Biblical passages most apt to be cited, alludedto, or imitatedin a comparatively favorablemannercontainexceptionaltypes of discourse,such as apocalypticandprothese two modes may be separatecategories.In the phetic writing.For studentsof scripture, of authorattracted the lavish imageryandvisionarycharacter to case of a twentieth-century and prophetic discourse, the two types of writing are not very distinct. The apocalyptic extremity of experience and the unaccustomed forms of consciousness and vision communicatedin such writing are distinctly parallelto Lispector's own efforts to convey revelatory breakthroughs. In addition, the encoding of meanings in cryptic symbols, characteristicof both Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature,certainly resembles Lispector's creationof ambiguousallegories. In noting these similarities,one should keep in mind that Lispector's purposes were very unlike those of, say, an apocalyptic writer dedicated to proclaiming the sovereignty of God. Lispector may accuratelybe called a spiritualwriter,but she is a secularand highly syncretisticone, able to draw from diverse traditions.Daphne Patai's analysis ofA paixao segundo G.H.,"ClariceLispector:Myth and Mystification,"identifies the discoursein the novel as a generalizedmystical languagethat appearsto have been synthesized from divergent sources. Patai draws comparisonswith mystics as diverse as Meister Eckhard, St. John of the Cross, and practitionersof Zen Buddhism. She then observesthatnot all these mystical tendencies include a concernwith language, "But a knowledge of these perspectivescan itself lead to the conscious adoption of a typical 'mystical style,' which may presentitself as the legitimatealternativeto silence. This is apparentlythe path Lispectorhas chosen in her novel" (92)3.

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These links would appear to account for Lispector's occasional homages to apocalyptic and propheticwriting. For example, while many of the biblical allusions in A paixao segundo G.H. aretreatedwith a casualnessthatborderson the dismissive,one of the of most specific and detailed, involving both a verbatimquotationand an exact attribution this citation to a particular book of the Bible, is to the Apocalypse of John (107). The title story of Onde estivestes de noite (59-79) presents, among many other In of things, a twentieth-century mimicryandtransformation apocalypticliterature. it, particreature ritualaretelepathicallyinformedby anandrogynous cipantsin an ecstaticnocturnal that"Eraa vesperado apocalipse"(67). The story borrowsvariouscommon items fromthe apocalyptic repertory.In the well-known traditionof signs in the heavens, the narrator reportsthe appearanceof an amazingcomet, the androgyneprophesiesa solar eclipse, and worshipers are guided to the gathering by "uma estrela de enorme densidade" (60). Cataclysmic wonders on earth include the eruption of the Atlantic Ocean. Among the humanlanguage,ecstaticbabblingoccurs,anda boy celebrants,communicationtranscends feels the call to prophesy. In narratingthis mass event, the narrator situates it in a time outside of standard historical progress. Those who participatein the ritual are described as undertaking"a viagem fora do tempo" (61). At times the activities appearto take place duringthe period when apocalypticmovementsand literature were at theirheight. At othertimes, they seem to represent a current-dayoutbreak of millenarianism.Among other references to the modem world, the narrator lists one of the night's events as the compositionof"uma nova e nao autenticahistoriabrasileira"(63). The lack of specificity concerningtime and place allows for an eclectic commingling of religious sources. The narrator in appearsambivalenttowardthe participants the frenziedrite;they are treatedwith a degree of mockery, but the ardorof their quest provides the occasion to explore and describe extreme states of mind. In an ironic denouementthathas been hinted at since the story's title, the end of days or dawning of a new era fails to materialize;the narrator recalls the nighttime frenzy in the light of the anticlimacticallysunny calm of the next day. While the ecstatic rite seems to take place outside of any specifiable time, after Brazil. The concern in the is telling the story the narrator plainly situatedin contemporary story is not the true believer's preoccupationwith apocalypse as bringing the end of the world. Rather,the ritual itself and the language used to evoke its excitement become the focus. Lispector cannot be said to be favoring either the Jewish or the Christian apocalyptic tradition,but rathera rule-breaking,extremequality found in these visionary texts and their dramaticallyfigurative language and imagery. "Ondeestivestes de noite" favors neither Christian nor Jewish sources and commingles apocalypse, prophetic utilizes a citation from Saint Theresa(63) to evoke discourse, and mysticism: the narrator the mood of the millenariangathering,withoutregardfor the disparityof the sourcesbeing borrowed. An affinity for Biblical passages based on revelationsreceived in moments of extremity is not surprising in Lispector. These portions of scripture, with their vivid imagery, often exercise a special appealupon writerswhose own workis highly lyrical and deals with extremes. Kanalensteinrefersto the heroine's ingestion of a cockroachin Apaixdo segundo G.H. as a fictional meditationon the system of kashrut,the Jewish dietarylaws (in AMIA 180). In all fairnessto Kanalenstein,one should note thatthe protagonistof the novel does observe that the Bible prohibits certain foods and quotes briefly from the passages in Deuteronomy listing unclean animals (46-47). However, if the heroine's motivationwere to defy kosher regulations,it would make more sense for her to consume the meat of swine thana cockroach.The latterspecies is not singled out as treifor non-kosher,in contrastwith the strict, unambiguousinjunctionsagainst eating or even touching dead swine. Even so,

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cockroaches fall undercategoriesthat are broaderand more open to interpretation, such as abominableanimals,uncleanfood, andcreepingandflying creatures. injuredcockroach The in Lispector's novel would also be proscribedas a damagedanimal. Looking at the entirenovel, this perhapsJewishreferenceis greatlyoutnumbered by an abundanceof Catholic allusions also having to do with forbiddenaspects of eating. In addition,the use thatthe heroinemakesof the quotationsconcerningkashrutis not in line with Judaic thought or that of any religion that regulates behavior. First, the protagonist the views the proscriptionof certainfoods as humanratherthandivine in origin,attributing prohibitionsto "eles"andto "pessoas" (47), specifically,people who pronounceandenforce rules, and who would consider her demented for her need to eat the cockroach. She or expresses her need not to understand enterinto the mindsetof the peoplewho formulated the regulations:"entende-lasseria a minhaderrocada" (47). Herquickmentalreview of the biblical categoriesof prohibitedfoods serves only to convince herthatshe needsto consume something thatis forbidden.Only throughthis forbiddenact can she glimpse the vision she seeks. In this case, the Bible seems useful principallyas a canonical text that clearly, if wrong-headedly,formalizessuch conceptsas the forbiddenandthe rituallysignificant.The origins of these concepts in specific religious culturesarenot accordedsignificance in Lispector's novel. Pataihas very accuratelyidentifiedthe universal,nonspecific conceptof the forbidden or taboo as the crucial issue in eating the cockroach: "A good deal of the significance that G.H. attributesto her experiencerests on the notion thatthe cockroachis not merely repellentbut also taboo. Although appearingto rejectthis idea, G.H. attributes meaningsto her actsthatarepossible only if one accepts,or at least feels, thatthe cockroach is in some way taboo"(86). EarlE. Fitz says of this same episode: "Inthe novel's most powerful scene, G.H. experiences a kind of eucharistthrough the body of the crushed insect" (80). Here the identificationof Christianreferentsrests on much strongertextual evidence than does the inferenceof a Jewishculturalsource.Inthe passagesrelatingthe climacticevent, Lispector's drawsupon Christian traditionto find parallelsto eatingthe cockroach. protagonist-narrator Not only are there allusions to the host and communion, but the protagonistrecalls the anecdotes concerningsaintswho kissed the sores of lepers as an exercise in self-abasement (108-109). The inadequacyof this Christianexercise is one of the themes of the cockroacheating passage. The heroine faults the leper-kissing saints for their self-seeking preoccupationwith saving their own souls; more desirable,in her vision, is a disinterested quest after"bondade."
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Looking throughthe history of criticismon Lispector'snarrative,one finds few references to Jewish influence; most researchalong these lines occurredafter the recent upsurge in interestin LatinAmericanJewish writing. In contrast,thereis a lengthy history of discussion, by critics with widely varying agendas, of the currentof diffuse mysticism that the narrativeof Lispectoroften manifests. Certainof Lispector's texts are generallyconsideredto center upon accounts of a mystical, visionary, or epiphanicepisode. For example,Fitz sums up the importanceof A paixao segundo G.H., in which a large portion of the text is the narrationof such a revelatory experience: "One of the most singularLatin Americannovels of the 1960s, A paixao segundo G.H. tells the story of a woman who undergoesa mystical experiencethat changes the way she thinks about herself and about life" (79). In Lispector'sfiction terms access to insight into ultimate like visdo and revelaado, used to speak of an extraordinary questions, are used with relative frequency.

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A well-known characteristic writingby mystics is its tendencyto resemble,not of so much other types of writing from the same religious traditionas the autobiographical author, but rather texts by mystics regardless of their religious affiliation. The strong commonalities between mystics from disparatetraditionsis what makes possible research into mysticism generally, as witness a long series of studies rangingfrom Jamesto recent research. It is importantto keep in mind thatmystics may appearin virtuallyany religious tradition. Overviews of mysticism are apt to start with observations such as: "Any worthwhile study of mysticism must, however, of its nature,be a study of comparative religion, for mysticism is a manifestationof something which is at the root of all religion and all the higherreligions have theirmystical expressions"(Happold16). Indeed,mystical personalexperience, experience extends beyond the institutionalreligions into unregulated and may occur in a secularcontext. Lispector'sfiction occasionally provides quite explicit reminders that mystical experiences are not necessarily associated with religiosity. For of example, the narrator A hora da estrela points out that the heroine went into a state of ecstasy in front of a large tree, but that "apesardo extase ela nao moravacom Deus" (81). In a sense, mystics are not fully constrainedby any religion; their presumedly direct communication with divine forces makes them less susceptible to control by religious authorities. Criticswho set out in searchof Lispector'selusive Jewishnessattimes find instead the similaritybetween her writing and thatof known mystics. For example, Schiminovich, intriguedby the belated discovery that Lispectorwas Jewish, rereadsher work in the light of this information, but wisely refrains from singling out any particular feature of Lispector's writing as a sign of Jewish influence. Though her article appearsin a volume dedicatedto LatinAmericanJewishwriting,Schiminovichavoidsdirectlyapplyingthelabel Jewish to Lispector's writing; even her title refers instead to "Biblical and Mystical Discourse." In contrastto her extreme wariness about classifying Lispector'snarrativeas markedby Jewish thought is the boldness with which she states:"ClariceLispectoroffers a modem day mysticism"(153). The line of researchrunningback to William James's 1902 VarietiesofReligious Experiencehas drawnattentionto commonalitiesbetween mystics from diverse traditions. Mystics sharecertainexpressivehabits.They base theiraccountsuponrevelationsthey have experienced, but state that the visionary, unitive moments they have lived throughcannot adequatelybe expressed in words. Since they persistin writing aboutthem, they are forced to use languagein ingenious ways to give readersa glimpse of what they have seen. It is not difficult to locatepassages in Lispector'sfiction thatexhibitat least some of the well-known identifying features of mystical discourse. The protagonist of A paixao segundo G.H. (103). paraexprimir" explainsheridiosyncraticwordchoices by saying "Naotenhopalavras Since no descriptiveterms can be appliedto the objectof her quest, which has no features, she calls what she is seeking "neutro" refersto her lengthily-narrated and visionaryepisode as the story of"como entrei no inexpressivo"(64). The use of paradoxicalformulationsto give readerssome notion of the visionary experience is anotherlink between Lispector'sfiction andthe writingproducedby mystics. Also, like mystics who laterrecountepisodes of illumination,Lispector'sprotagonistsfind thatmomentsof epiphanysimply come uponthem, rather thanbeing willed to occur.Again like mystic literature (as well as like apocalyptic and prophetic writing), Lispector's narrativesof personal ephiphaniesrely heavily on metaphorand image to encode content that cannot be asserted straightforwardly. these forms of discourse are susceptible to All varying interpretations. A researchercould examine furtherthe parallelsbetween Lispector'snarratives of revelatoryor illuminatingexperiencesandthe assertionsmadeby mystics. However,too

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detaileda tracingof these similaritieswould tend to obscurethe modem and secularnature of Lispector's narrative.It is importantto keep in mind that Lispectoris a lyrical novelist with a typically twentieth-centuryapproachto innovation. The critical observation that Lispector's writing exhibits features of mystical discourse is very different from, say, researchaimedat determiningwhethera sixteenth-or seventeenth-century or cleric was nun a mystic4.Any hallmarksof mystic literature that appearin Lispector's fiction have been thoroughlyrefashionedin accordwith a twentieth-century conceptandpracticeof literature. One should also remember the noted mystics generallydid not willfully rebel that against their religious traditionsor go against dogma, even if others perceived them as heretical or beyond ecclesiastical control. In contrast,Lispector is like many innovative writers of her time in deliberately breaking with literaryconvention and in cultivating radical, rule-violating effects in her writing. In addition, Lispector is like many modem readersof the mystics in that she is not concernedwith mystical theology, but ratherwith the extremesof experienceundergoneby mystics andthe discoursethey developedto seek to convey their visions.
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Complicatingthe searchfor a subtle literaryJewishnessis the abundanceof overt references to Catholic and, more broadly, Christianculturethat Lispectorwove into her work. As noted, it is virtually impossible to single out culturalallusions in Lispector's fiction that are Jewish and could not possibly be Christianor from some othertradition.In often featuremanyreferencesthatpoint unequivocallyto a Christian, contrast,hernarratives specifically Catholic, source. Any reader of Lispector's fiction will soon recognize the author's familiaritywith Catholic tradition. This patternof reference is in keeping with sense andherrepressionof the Lispector'seagernessto be Brazilianin the most mainstream evidence that she had been an EasternEuropeanJewish immigrant.Vieira, in the courseof researching Lispector's real-world Jewishness, also came across much evidence of her fascinationwith Catholicism:"[Nelida]Pifion spoke about Lispector's lifelong love affair with Catholicismand Christianity,which partlyexplains the Christianimageryin so many of her narratives.Pifion even mentionedthat at one point Lispectorwantedto be buried in a nearbyChristiancemetery"("ClariceLispector"121).5 Lispector appearsto be availing herself of Catholic referentsbecause they are ready at hand, recognizable to virtually all Brazilian readers,and to address issues that actually concern the author.While in some cases readersmay detect signs of an attraction to the mystical side of Catholicism,Lispector'sliterarytreatment Catholictraditionis by of no means acritically admiring. Of the many allusions to Christianityand the Catholic culturalrepertoryin Lispector'sfiction, a numberaremarkedlyparodicin natureor in some other way signal that traditionalitems are being used out of context, stripped of many referencesstands traditionalassociations. The derisive employmentof Christian-Catholic and in contrastto the largelynonironicassociationbetween Lispector'snarrative thewriting of mystics. An example of Lispector'soften mocking outlook on the institutionalized,rulebound side of Catholicism is "A imitacaoda rosa."As a pupil in the SacredHeartschool, the story's fragile, perfectionistic heroine dutifully read all the words in TheImitationof Christwithoutregisteringtheirmeaning.Inthis storyit is suggestedthatCatholicschooling misses the main point in its teaching of texts relating spiritualquests. Though the heroine does not understandthe words of the treatise entitled The Imitation of Christ, its title provokes in her an anarchicinsight. She realizes that if anyone truly undertookto imitate Christ,he or she "estariaperdido-perdido na luz, mas perigosamenteperdido.Cristo era

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she a pior tenta9ao"(Lafos 37). This realizationis clearly antitheticalto the Christianity is being taught, and she apparently keeps it to herself,worryingthat even God might need to forgive her for such thoughts. ThroughoutLispector's work, homages to the mystical and often ungovernable aspects of Catholicism are counterweighted by critical portrayals of the rule-bound, conventional side of the same cultural-religious system. In "As manigan,as de dona Frozina,"from Onde estivestes de noite, the narrator expresses irritationat this provincial matron'shabitof reducingreligioustermsandconceptsto everydaybanality.Thecomplaint here is against the routinizationof words that should be reservedfor the effort to express concepts of the sacred; the heroine feels that the garrulous neighborhood woman is squanderingand exhaustinga languagewhose use ought to remainexceptional. Although dona Frozinarepresentsa Catholic culture,the narrator's irritationis not specifically with Catholicism, since the same wearing away of significance could occur in any religious cultureor indeed in a secularcontext. Not surprisingly,Lispector's fiction often links Catholicismto a conventional outlook and fondness for regulating other people's behavior. For example, in Perto do coraqao selvagem, when Joana's aunt finds her niece's views and actions upsettingly strange, she consults a priest and decides to place the girl in a Catholic boarding school (Perto 60). In such passages, Catholicism appearsas a regulatoryforce used to suppress originality and invention. However, on other occasions, Catholicismis seen as stimulatingan original and innovativeexpression.The latteris the case when Lispectordrawsupon the mystical aspect of Catholic culture,especially the discourseassociatedwith thattradition.When Lispector patternsher discourse upon thatof the noted mystics in the Catholictradition,the imitation is an admiringone. Schiminovichlikens Lispector'snarrative the poetryof two celebrated to Catholic mystic poets, St. John of the Cross and Saint Theresaof Jesus (153). Lispector would have every reason to follow the lead of such writers,but not because of the religion or denomination they represent. Rather, Lispector's attractionto the Spanish Catholic mystics of the sixteenthandseventeenthcenturyappearsto stem fromaffinitiesbetweenher "Clarice writingandmystic discoursegenerally.As Schiminovichdrawsthe generalization: offers a modem day mysticism"(153). Lispector
* * *

Lispector'snarrativecontainsmany words, phrases,and culturalallusionsdrawn from sacred texts. The use of these elements makes sense, given the preoccupationwith ultimate questions and the moments of trascendentvision experienced by Lispector's protagonists.In her fiction, relatively little importanceis given to the exact provenanceof these items, which sometimesareinextricablyintermingled with secularformsof mysticism and allegorical formulations.In any culture where Catholicism is dominant, one would expect to find allusions to the Hebrew Bible freely commingled with New Testament referencesandmentionof Catholicinstitutionsandpractices.This mixture,as well as being the modo standard, is typical of Lispector'swriting, which enjoyed a mainstreamsuccess. In this sense, her narrativeis consistentwith her self-characterization "brasileira, as pronto e ponto" (qtd in Vieira, "Clarice Lispector" 117). There are many other examples of Lispector's desire to appear purely Brazilian. When Claire Varin discovered a birth certificategiving Lispector'sdateof birthas 1920 rather thanthe previously-accepted1925, it was noted thatthe laterbirthdate servedto make Lispectorappearless of a non-native. had If bor in 1925, she would have arrivedin Brazil as an infant.Lispectortendedto overstate the degree to which her family of origin was assimilated.6 actionsand statementsreflect Her the assimilationistideology thatheld sway while she was launchingher literarycareer.

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Lispector'sfiction also treatsthe diabolicreverseof Catholicism,thatis, forbidden rituals such as the witches' Sabbathor black mass. "Seco estudo de cavalos," from Onde Herethe heroine-protagonist, estivestes de noite, exemplifies this tendencyin her narrative. has througha theft fromthe royalherd"noenfeiticadoSabath," become attachedto a satanic horse with whom she spends her nights. The story includes allusions to traditionaltales of human beings affiliated with the devil. The narrator calls herself a "feiticeira"(58) and expresses the belief that the horse will draw her into hell; horse and rider share an intolerancefor the sight of crosses;therearereferencesto vampiresand demonic rites. The basis for Satanism is the blasphemous parody or inversion of Church practices and a flaunting of prohibitedbehavior. These features go well with Lispector's interest in the literaryexplorationof transgression. Beyond question, Lispectormanifestsin her fiction a concernwith rites and with such concepts as the sacredand revealed knowledge. However, it is extremely difficult to attachthese preoccupationssecurely to any establishedreligious culture.For this reason, it of is counterproductive attemptto identify Lispectoras a writerrepresentative any one to her source cultureor religious outlook. It is accurateto characterize as a highly imaginative and. inventive twentieth-centurywriter concerned with matters of the spirit and the transcendentrealm.

NOTES 'A preliminary version of this paperwas readat the conferenceClariceLispector: A Symposium held at the University of Texas at Austin in October 1997. I would like to extendmy special appreciation Silviano Santiagofor the valuablecommentshe provided to on the paper in progress, and to Cristina Ferreira-Pintofor her work organizing the symposium. 2 In this regard,it seems fair to discount "o judeu pobre"who, in his extremely brief interventionin "Ondeestivestes de noite"identifieshimself, throughsilent shouting, as Jewish and as Jesus (62). 3 Patai reads A paixdo segundo G.H. ironically and views with skepticism the heroine's account of her revelatoryexperiences. While this critic voices doubt about the value of the insights the heroine claims to have gained, she does not question that her utterancesbelong in the traditionof mystic discourse. 4 For a succinct summaryof how literaryscholarsdeterminewhethera given text constitutesmystical literature,one may see GerardFlynn, "TheAlleged Mysticism of Sor in Juana," Hispanic Review28 (1960) 233-44, reprinted his SorJuanaInes de la Cruz(New York: Twayne, 1971) 99-107. Flynn observes that,in judging a text to be mysticalwriting, scholars consider its grounding in the mystic's direct experience, a typical repertoryof metaphorsand images, and its resemblanceto othertexts that are known to be the work of mystics. 5 In her "Clarice Lispector,"Igel informs readersthat "Aftera long battle with cancer she encounteredher physical end and was buriedat the CemiterioIsraelitado Caju, in Rio de Janeiro"(351). 6 Discrepancies concerning Lispector's date of birth and family of origin are summarizedby Marting87-89.

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