Rescued memories

an analysis of “Becos da memória (Memory’s alleys)”, by Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

Becos da Memória (Memory’s Alleys) is a novel that was written by Conceição Evaristo in the 1980s and was published for the first time only in 2006. That significant time interval between the time of its writing and its publication reveals the difficulties that face in general those who, coming from places far from the – economic, social, geographical – centers, struggle to overcome these barriers. The narrative of the novel begins by introducing those people who constituted the place where the “alleys” of memory were rescued by the author are transformed into writing. With the extract, Conceição Evaristo takes as its subject the multiple structures of the alleys traversed by the narrator, writing them as small stories. This article aims to analyze how Evaristo restored these places where the word circulates mixed with other language resources that, at the same time as they uncover the "forgotten" memories, also expose them in accessible ways to those who may read, and still presenting the conditions of production and the instances of legitimacy. This is an analytical research which has as its primary basis the aforementioned novel; as theoretical basis, the studies of researchers who somehow have in common works that present ideas about the referred themes, as is the case of Nora (1993), Bernd (1984), Bhabha (2006), among others. Therefore, leading readers to apprehend how the instances of legitimacy and production are important for authors coming from peripheral places to be able to produce and overcome the barrier of the prejudice. All this is according to the rescued memories that involve the Brazilian alleys and the Brazilians.

[Received on: July 29, 2021 - Accepted on: October 30, 2021]