ABSTRACT
This study focuses on father-daughter relationships as a vehicle through which Rio Grandian author Cíntia Moscovich (1958- ) challenges patriarchal standards in her fiction. The father archetype serves as a starting point for Moscovich to present the patriarchal norms of Jewish law as well as of the Brazilian government under the military dictatorship. The fictional daughters, who double as narrators, question and violate these norms. Their transgressions include prohibited amorous relationships (between same-sex couples and/or between Jews and goys) and nonconformity with regard to career choices. Throughout the narratives, the protagonists attempt to reconcile the contrasting aspects of their identities - Brazilianness, Jewishness, and sexual orientation - that comprise their sense of self. The literary analysis herein considers the fundamental concepts of queer theory as well as the trajectory of progressive thought in the four main branches of Judaism over the last 40 years.
Keywords:
patriarchy; Jewish law; queer theory; Cíntia Moscovich