Mulher de palavra: encantada, mal dita, bem dita

Abstract

Women’s words and presence are at the center of this work. Silently, the word gains the body of the subject as well as their background. Yet, when spoken, this word may be either a bless or a curse and, even delight us with its strength. What ties my discussion, between the silent word and the spoken word, is the healing word. The writing I offer here weaves along threads of my own experience, a deep-rooted encounter with the woman and the word. I turn to psychoanalysis and language, in a conversation with authors of these two fields, but mostly from the psychoanalytic one with emphasis on Freudian theory, from which I remove the upholstery for my argument. Freud's listening to the patient has deeply captivated me, to know the story of a physician, who, by changing his position, allowed the patient - a woman - to talk. In a historic moment, turning from the XIX to the XX century - especially difficult for the female contingent and for all those who did not fit the ideal of capacity, order, reason and normality (including the mentally ill, the black people, and the disabled ones) - Freud was the doctor who was silent and, therefore, could hear what women had to say about their sufferings, giving them a subjective character as well as a place. My reader will soon realize that my thoughts, although contemplating subjects from different historical, social, and cultural moments, have as a common point the women, the discrimination, the language, the speech and, most importantly, the place from which listening can happen. Hysterical women and their symptoms allow for a speaking body. Being previously manifested (paralysis, stuttering, for instance) on the body, this speaking found its way into Freud's unique ability to hear them, for only then, have the chance to reframe the symptoms in the body precisely through the use of speech and the words that came along. This thesis seeks to discuss the important presence of women in the invention of psychoanalysis and hysteria, which, in its permanent interrogation, is this muse who never ceases to inspire the psychoanalytic clinic. Through women's voices, I bring, in addition to the hysterics, the strong presence of homeless girls, who had me in touch with their secret words, to finally relate those with my grandmother's past chanting and blessings, opening my ears to the beauty of the enchanting words. Clarice Lispector, my first analyst, accompanies me through the chapters with her words to articulate what only she could say