As if we were in Elvira Vina’s palimpsest

female erasure and subjective corrosion

Abstract

In the present article, Como se estivéssemos em palimpsesto de putas by Elvira Vigna is analyzed based on female erasure and subjective corrosion. The image of the palimpsest itself is used for the proposed assessment. In this way, the erasure overlaps women, making them indistinguishable from each other. A problem already raised when depriving the narrative voice of a name. In this regard, gender and class issues stand out, thus highlighting different ways of violence according to the social stratum, to the clear detriment of prostitutes. In turn, it draws on subjective corrosion to investigate the male counterpoint, represented by João. His perception is discussed by the displacement, carried out by the variation of the narrative focus. It focuses on, therefore, in compositional procedures, treated in its formal and thematic complexity, in order to unveil a literary elaboration that contrasts with the unpretentious tone adopted in the novel.