As Joanas das Marias

bodies crossed by pain in A ama, by Maria Benedita Bormann and A escrava, by Maria Firmina dos Reis

Abstract

Black motherhood was never legitimized by slaveholders. It was believed that these mothers were contemptuous, imposing a motherhood lived in abandonment or distance. Countless literary works for a long time were eager to stigmatize black people, not bothering to embody the pains of women, especially those who had children. By choosing black motherhood as the central motto of their texts, the authors Maria Benedita Bormann and Maria Firmina dos Reis make visible bodies that have always suffered from colonial projections and the slave system, attributing humanity and meaning to these maternal bodies. In this context, black women are presented in writings that corroborate the perspective of denunciation and rupture, reflecting social transformations necessary in their time and echoing in the present. A ama, from 1884 and A escrava, from 1887 point to reflections that still affect mothers who belong to less favored social strata. Women of many names and contexts, but still victims of systems that oppress, separate, mutilate and kill.

[Received on: March 30, 2023 - Accepted on: June 10, 2023]