Dinâmicas de Representação do Negro na Literatura:

Reflexões sobre a visualidade de personagens em Úrsula, de Maria Firmina dos Reis

Abstract

This article reflects on the dynamics of representation of black characters in the work Úrsula by Maria Firmina dos Reis, starting from the description of the main visual elements that help in the creation of the characters’ image, involving, among others, body description, skin color, facial features, hair, indicatives of age, clothing, and may appear together or separately. Articulated with objective and subjective characteristics, they make it possible to understand both the visuality of the person created for the narrative and the possible stereotypes associated with it present in the socio-historical-cultural environment in which the work and its audience are inserted. The visuality of Túlio, Susana, and Antero guides the dialogue between forms of representation of black people in the literary work of a 19th century black northeastern writer, and concepts such as representation, representativeness, and controlling images. The result, in the novel, combining a black body with the articulation of active voice to compose a new image for black people in the social imaginary helps to link them not only to negative stereotypes but also to the category of man, status denied to them during the enslavement process and which unfolds in layers of social segregation linked to the racialization of part of the human population, still present in contemporary times. The reflection proposed here emphasizes the importance of building the visuality of characters in a critical way that follows the social debates of their time and reinforces the relevance of the author and her work for Brazilian literature.