Mystery, infinity and transcendence: reflections on the sublime dimension of the short story Olhos d’água, by Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the short story Olhos d'água, by Conceição Evaristo, from the aesthetic category of the sublime in order to show how the metaphorical and metonymic meanings constructed in this narrative highlight the aspect of mystery, infinity and transcendence linked to the color of maternal eyes, which as a genealogical bond (SOUSA; FREITAS, 2021) unites the characters and reveals the importance of recognizing female ancestry. Based on the ideas of Longinus (1996) and Kant (1995), we also intend to demonstrate that the figures of speech present in the short story, above all, the “metonymy”, the “metaphor” and the “anaphora”, work together to promote the sublimity in the history. More specifically, we believe that these figures are fundamental strategies for the mathematical sublime (KANT, 1995) to be manifested and suggested in the short story. The analysis indicates that the capacitu of the maternal eyes to “reflect” reveals the possibility of transcending an immediate reality, characterized mainly by social deprivations and issues related to racism, to a more spiritual reality, represented by the resistance of black women who conserve traditions of African origin and recognize the importance of the wisdom and history of their ancestors.