Political and artistic freedom in Gilka Machado: a question of authorship

Abstract

The female voice in literature, especially as a subject of discourse, was built from a history of confrontations against patriarchal society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Having as its main theme the subversion and strength of women, the literature of female authorship has reworked elitized canon, therefore white, hetero and male, questioning the hierarchical structure that oppresses specific races, genders and social classes, those placed into the borders of capitalist society. Starting from theories arising from the feminist struggle, this article shows the impetus of issues of female authorship in Brazil, briefly presenting some essential women for the search of the women visibility in social and intellectual spaces, especially Gilka Machado (1893-1980), poet from Rio de Janeiro known in literary circles, at her time, as immoral and libertine. Author of books like Meu Glorioso Pecado and Mulher Nua, her work was limited to eroticism, which is why she still receives little attention from literary historiography. The social, political and literary structure have been imposing the silencing of the poet, by building a canon responsible for giving shadow or light upon writers. As a theoretical framework, this article was based on discussions by Ribeiro, Telles, Muzart and others.