Who can eat at the captain’s table? Intertextuality and alterity in the works of Katherine Anne Porter and Ana Margarida de Carvalho

Abstract

This article aims to analyse the intertextual relations and representations of alterity in the novels The Ship of Fools (1962) by the American writer Katherine Anne Porter and Não se Pode Morar nos Olhos de um Gato [You Can’t Live in the Eyes of a Cat] (2016) by the Portuguese writer Ana Margarida de Carvalho.
Starting from a comparatist approach in order to analyse similarities within the differences and using the theoretical contributions of Tiphaine Samoyault, Koch and Paul Voestermans among others, we will discuss how intertextuality becomes an entrance into alterity – a core element in the two novels. In fact, in both works, in an atmosphere of claustrophobic confinement, the hostile looks of distrust cast at the “other” reveal the prejudices that lead to injustice and social discrimination. In both cases, “the captain’s table” symbolises a privileged status, accessible only to an elite minority.
Finally, we will look at how alterity confers meaning on the inter-relationships established in the two works, underlining a pessimistic view of human nature, of undeniable actuality, that makes us reflect on how in a globalised society in the 21st century we perceive and live (together) with the “other”.