Abstract
This article aims to analyze the relations between movement and stagnation in the constructions of spaces and female homosexuality in the novel Controle (2019) by Natalia Borges Polesso. I argue that the narrative traces a parallel between the repression of the protagonist’s non-normative sexuality and her medical condition marked by epilepsy and depression, which leads her to live under domestic confinement. Although this parallel may present the risk of coining homosexuality as a pathology, the story’s complexity shows that the protagonist’s insecurity and social isolation are overcome by homosexual desire, which is portrayed as a force that triggers movement in the character. Lastly, I discuss the ways that Polesso’s novel reworks certain stereotypes that are present in lesbian literature, such as social exclusion, the myth of tragic love and displacement as a premise for the consolidation of erotic encounter, as it is shown by the studies developed by Virgínia Maria Vasconcelos Leal.
Keywords:
space; lesbian literature; Natalia Borges Polesso