Colonial Writing and Its Identity Fractures:

a Look at the Female Milieu Shaped in “Mãe Genoveva” and “Vavó Xíxi e seu neto Zeca Santos”

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35520/mulemba.2025.v17n33e69767

Abstract

African literature intersects with Portuguese literature. To this end, this article aims to reflect on two short stories, "Mother Genoveva" by Portuguese writer Vergílio Ferreira and "Vavó Xixi and Her Grandson Zeca Santos" by Angolan writer José Luandino Vieira, viewed through the lens of a Portuguese colonial paradigm and the scars left on the subjectivity of these women. One, a woman from the Alentejo people, her skin tanned by the sun and suffering, the other, an Angolan woman whose existence bears marks of clamor, pain, and decency. Drawing on bibliographic research, particularly scientific articles addressing the theme of identity construction in Portuguese-language literature, we conclude that, in weaving their identities, Genoveva and Vavó write a feminine that subverts and transforms the scars left by loss, pain, and social discomfort into movement, invention, and life.

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Author Biography

Shayara Lorena Arantes Oliveira, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais - Puc Minas

Pesquisadora e Doutoranda do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, cujo eixo temático é: Literaturas de Língua Portuguesa. Linha de Pesquisa: Percursos da literatura: histórias, críticas, teorias.

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Published

2026-05-15

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 33 (2025): Imagens de mulher em escrita africana de autoria feminina

Section

Ser mulher no período colonial, entre a vida e a escrita

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