"The Visit" (2021), de Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: feminismo literário e ficção especulativa

Cláudio R. V. Braga

doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e88181

Authors

Cláudio R. V. Braga UNB

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e88181

Keywords:

speculative fiction, alternate history, oppressive matriarchy, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Abstract

Quite widespread in the United States, the term “speculative fiction” indicates an extensive literary production in which alternative conjunctures, times and spaces have been imagined, resulting in a literary corpus rich in meanings. This article demonstrates how speculative fiction, a controversial concept, reflects the human condition from its specific mechanisms. Following the theoretical discussion, the article offers an analysis of the short story “The Visit” (2021), by the renowned writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, part of the anthology Black Stars. The investigation shows how “The Visit” can be read as an example of speculative literature, adding to it the author's own feminist gaze. This could be implied from the fact that the artistic use of speculative elements results in a work that instigates readers to rethink the absurdities of gender inequality based on the literary creation of an oppressive matriarchy.

Author Biography

Cláudio R. V. Braga, UNB

Cláudio R. V. Braga é professor, pesquisador e orientador de mestrado e doutorado na Universidade de Brasília (UnB), atuando principalmente em literaturas de língua inglesa. Obteve o título de doutor na UFMG (2010) e realizou pós-doutorado na University of Leeds (Inglaterra) e na USP (2017). Publicou e organizou 5 livros, sendo o mais conhecido A literatura movente de Chimamanda Adichie (2019), pela editora UnB. Também publicou vários artigos e ensaios, no Brasil e no exterior, tendo apresentado suas pesquisas na Inglaterra, na Áustria, na Índia, no Canadá, nos Estados Unidos e em várias localidades no Brasil. É membro fundador do Grupo de Pesquisa Mayombe (literaturas africanas e afrodescendentes), registrado no CNPq. Professor há 30 anos, antes da UnB atuou em instituições privadas de ensino médio e superior.

References

ABRAMS, M. H. Utopias and Dystopias. In: A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7. ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Pub., 1999. p. 328.

ADICHIE, Chimamanda N. The Visit. In: Black Stars. Seattle: Amazon Original Series, 2021.

BRAGA, Cláudio. R. V. A literatura movente de Chimamanda Adichie: pós-colonialidade, descolonização cultural e diáspora. Brasília: Ed. Universidade de Brasília, 2019.

BURNETT, Joshua Yu. Isn’t Realist Fiction Enough? On African Speculative Fiction. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal. Manitoba: University of Manitoba, v. 52, n. 3, p. 119-135, 2019. Disponível em: https://www.jstor.org/stable/ 26781582. Acesso em: 14 mai. 2022.

ESPECULAR. In: Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, 2008-2021. Disponível em: https://dicionario.priberam.org/especular. Acesso em: 04 abr. 2022.

ESPECULATIVO. In: HOUAISS, Antônio. Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro, Ed. Objetiva, 2001. Disponível em: https://houaiss.uol.com.br/corporativo/ apps/uol_www/v6-0/html/index.php#1. Acesso em: 04 mai. 2022.

GILL, R. B. The Uses of Genre and the Classification of Speculative Fiction. Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Canada, v. 46, n. 2, p. 71–85, 2013. Disponível em: http://www.jstor.org/stable/44030329. Acesso em: 14 mai. 2022.

HEINLEIN, Robert A. On the Writing of Speculative Fiction. In: Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy: 20 Dynamic Essays by the Field's Top Professionals. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1993. Disponível em: https://staging.paulrosejr.com/wp-content/uploads/ 2016/12/on_the_writing_of_speculative_ficiton.pdf. Acesso em: 04 abr. 2022.

MERRIL, Judith. Introduction. In: SF: the Best of the Best (New York: Delacorte Press, 1967). Disponível em: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/judith-merrils-definition-of-sf-science-fiction. Acesso em: 04 abr. 2022.

OZIEWICZ, Marek. Speculative Fiction. In: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Disponível em: https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-78. Acesso em: 4 abr. 2022.

SILVA, Alexander Meireles. Ficção especulativa. In: REIS, Carlos; ROAS, David; FURTADO, Filipe; GARCÍA, Flavio; FRANÇA, Júlio (Eds.). Dicionário digital do insólito ficcional. Rio de Janeiro: Dialogarts, 2019. Disponível em: http://www.insolitoficcional.uerj.br/f/ficcao-especulativa/. Acesso em: 15 abr. 2022.

SPECULATIVE. In: SMITH, William; HALL, Theophilus D. A Copious and Critical English-Latin Dictionary. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1871. Disponível em: https://latinitium.com/latin-dictionaries/?t=sh23906. Acesso em: 11 Mai. 2022.

SPECULATIVE. In: Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, 2022. Disponível em: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speculative. Acesso em: 11 Mai. 2022.

THOMAS, Sheree R. Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora. New York: Grand Central, 2000.

THOMAS, Sheree R. Dark Matter: Reading the Bones. New York: Grand Central, 2005.

TURTLEDOVE, Harry. The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century: Stories New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2002.

WILKIE, Alex; SAVRANSKY, Martin; ROSENGARTEN, Marsha, (Eds.). Introduction: Beyond the Impasse of the Present. In: Speculative Research: The Lure of Possible Futures. Abingdon: Routledge, 2017. p.iii.

WHATIF LAB: The Ursula Project - Speculative Fiction Storytelling for Technology Foresight. The University of Queensland: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2022. Disponível em: https://hass.uq.edu.au/ursula-project-speculative-fiction-storytelling-technology-foresight. Acesso em: 27 dez. 2022.