Clarice Lispector

Clarice Lispector's first novel, Near to the Wild Heart (Perto do coracao selvagem), was published in 1944, when ts author was only nineteen years old."

Near to the Wild Heart

Nathan Johnson

the awakening of feminine rage in Joana: indicating how at peace she feels towards her husband's absence, making her feel guilty and evil for feeling that way, but yet it calms her as she realises the evil inside of her relishes her truest form.

comparing the pleasure of lust with the pleasure of evil, it awakens her, the adoration of finding yourself in particular moments in life where you shouldn't and comparing that to the pleasure both people would feel in an intercourse, it reflects how she's prioritising her feeling of being free rather how she feels in that intoxicated relationship.

The certainty that evil is my calling, thought Joana.

What else was that feeling of contained force, ready to burst forth in violence, that longing to apply it with her eyes closed, all of it, with the rash confidence of a wild beast? Wasn't it in evil alone that you could breathe fearlessly, accepting the air and your lungs? Not even pleasure would give me such pleasure as evil, she thought surprised.

Pity is my way of loving. Of hating and communicating. It is what sustains me against the world, just as one person lives through desire, another through fear. Pity for things that happen without my knowledge.

Even suffering was good because while the lowest suffering was taking place she also existed—like a separate river.

Wasn’t it in evil alone that you could breathe fearlessly, accepting the air and your lungs?

All yearning is pursuit of pleasure. All remorse, pity, benevolence, is fear of it. All despair and seeking alternative routes are dissatisfaction.

Near to the Wild Heart quotes

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