Transexuality and liquidity in Do fundo do poço se vê a lua, by Joca Reiners Terron
Transexual character; Do fundo do poço se vê a lua; Brazilian literature; Narrative.
This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between contemporary Brazilian literature and themes related to it, especially transexuality. This investigation will be mainly focused on the analysis of the protagonist and narrator Cleopatra, in the novel novel Do fundo do poço se vê a lua (2010), by Joca Reiners Terron (1968-), a Brazilian writer from the city of Cuiabá. I argue that Cleopatra is the first character in Brazilian literature to undergo sex reassignment surgery. This thesis also deals with nuances that constitute the identity of the character Wilson, who later becomes Cleopatra. This research is underpinned by Bakhtin’s ideas on the aesthetics of verbal creation, and Judith Butler’s notions on issues of gender and identity which are pertinent to our analysis. Doppelgänger, an analytical category borrowed from the book Double, by Otto Rank (2013), will be discussed in parallel with our investigation of Cleopatra, and will provide a better understanding of the gender and sexual identity issues examined in this thesis. This research, therefore, investigates the link between literature and current social issues regarding gender, identity and transsexual subjectivity.