Undone Anatomies: Femininity, Performativity and Parody in Mário de Sá-Carneiro's <em>A Confissão de Lúcio</em>

Abstract

2014 marked the centenary of the publication of Mario de Sa-Carneiro’s novel A Confissao de Lucio, a text defined by its complex articulations of sexuality, jealousy, and madness. While traditional analyses of the text underplayed the importance of sexuality and eroticism to the plot, more recent readings have revisited the novel to engage with the latent sexual tension between the novel’s male protagonists. Sa-Carneiro’s use of sexuality and gender as articulated through his two female characters, however, remains overlooked. This study explores the radical possibilities of these intriguing characters, using Judith Butler’s poststructuralist theorization of gender and sexual categories to provide a starting point for the development of new perspectives on Sa-Carneiro’s classic text.