Hot Dog -Hour of a Star

 This week I chose to read The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector and I've gotta say this has definitely been an interesting read. For starters I found it really cool that the book follows a narrator while he writes about a character. Honestly the first time I tried to read this book I was so confused but after I watched this week's lecture it helped clear up the story for me. The narrator struggles to write about this girl who is forgotten, poor and unremarkable and he really emphasizes that he is the only one who loves her (kinda weird). The way he described her made me sometimes dislike Rodrigo and he would talk about how Macabéa’s life was sort of out of his hands, like she had her own destiny as he wrote her (but like he’s the author). She is a character that just takes life as it is, she doesn't go to church or ask why things are and the narrator even says she doesn't know she is unhappy. I think the quote that showcased this the most for me was when Macabéa was described as just “inhaling and exhaling, inhaling and exhaling.” To me, I think this description was to really showcase Macabéas' class and the struggles that come with it. She didn’t have the luxury of having options of doing things for her happiness, and like the book mentions, being sad and living well are privileges for the wealthy. We also have the privilege of reading about ANOTHER terrible boyfriend in this book. Her boyfriend cheats on her and is condescending to her because he is a wealthy weasel. He was another character that looked down on her, so she definitely dodged a bullet with this one (too bad she couldn't dodge the car lol).


This week's lecture also made me think of the questions “what does the title mean?”. After reading the book I think it's pretty obvious that this hour of a star is Macabéa death. It is her one moment to be the main character in her story, to be seen after her whole life being forgotten. That’s why her death wasn’t really sad for me, like sure she won't be able to eat hot dogs and coke anymore but I would like to think that in death she is able to find her own happiness. Maybe the fortune teller was right and she will meet this really rich foreign guy in the afterlife, maybe she will live a better life after death. Death is the one thing none of us can know about, not even Clarice or Rodrigo can know what happens to Macabéa after her death, so I guess she is free.



Question: How did you guys feel when she died? Was it sad for you?

Comments

  1. Jon Beasley-MurrayMarch 7, 2024 at 8:17 AM

    "he really emphasizes that he is the only one who loves her (kinda weird)"

    It is weird, isn't it? Though it does seem true that (at least the way the narrator himself writes her), nobody else seems to care for her too much. She doesn't seem to make much impact on the world. And I think the book's partly about that: what trace do people leave, and are there people that really don't leave much of a trace. Or does everyone have something, some "hour of the star"?

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  2. Ximena AvendanoMarch 9, 2024 at 7:33 PM

    I really enjoyed your post, to answer your question, i was mainly surprised when she died, but overall I though it made sense for the book and I thought it was good that the book didn't end in her death but actually had a process of reflection by Rodrigo

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