ABSTRACT.
The aim of this study is to problematize the presence of the dog Ulisses as alter ego of Clarice Lispector in the children's book Quase de verdade (1978). Ulisses was also the author's dog, mentioned by her in several interviews and in the book Um sopro de vida (1999) in terms of his humanity, that would enable him to understand Clarice in a particular and closer, almost accomplice way. This humanity materializes when he assumes the narration in Quase de verdade, positioning Clarice as his interpreter. The relationship with the animal is symbiotic, recovering a more instinctive experience of the author and allowing the enjoyment of emotions present in the animal, in a process of complementarity. As vertices of the same self, we discuss to what extent Ulisses also functions as an interpreter of Clarice, proposing to her a concrete experience of living that would go beyond the construction of rational intelligibility. The dimension of sensory and corporeal living thus presents itself as superior to comprehensive activity, bringing Clarice closer to the intimate, basic, and equally savage universe so well lived and embodied by Ulisses, captained by the position of a pure alter ego capable of teaching. her to live with her own animality.
Keywords:
Clarice Lispector; alterity; corporeality