Takahashi 1 Lindsey Takahashi IB English 12-5 Ms.

Veltre 2 November 2011 The significance of mirrors and reflections in The Hour of the Star In the metafictional novella, The Hour of the Star, Clarice Lispector uses narrator Rodrigo S.M. to tell the story of a poor girl from North-east Brazil named Macaba. Because he plays the role of the author, the story itself is prolonged by the interruptions of Rodrigo's own life and feelings. But Rodrigos incorporation of mirrors and reflections reveal the character development of Macaba, while expressing the reality of the difficulty of writing. As the borders between author, narrator, character, and reader dissolve, the use of the mirror ultimately helps lead to the composition of a catharsis, and poses a query of true identity. In the beginning, Rodrigo tells the reader, She [Macaba] forced her being upon me. Already, it is revealed that Rodrigo is telling the story of a fictional being, and that he is burdened by her. He later admits, I see the girl from the North-east looking in the mirror and the ruffle of a drum in the mirror there appears my own face, weary and unshaven. We have reversed roles completely. Without a shadow of doubt she is a physical person (22). Because he is driven by his own experience, as Rodrigo continues to write, he finds he is losing a grip on reality and on where he begins and where his character ends. Through this, the reader becomes faced with the pain and distress that the writing process causes. After Macaba was scolded by her boss, she retreated to the bathroom to recover: She examined herself mechanically in the mirror above the filthy

Takahashi 2 hand basin that was badly cracked and full of hairs: the image of her own existence. The dark, tarnished mirror scarcely reflected any image. Perhaps her physical existence had vanished? (25) Even her physical existence reflects Rodrigo's lack of willingness to write about her. At this point in the story, she is not even given a name yet. While looking in the mirror, questioning her existence, she remembers: When she was a little girl, her aunt, in order to frighten her, insisted that the vampire [] casts no reflection in the mirror. She reckoned that it might not be such a bad thing being a vampire, for the blood would add a touch of pink to her sallow complexion (26). Rodrigo uses this memory to portray his feelings of dislike towards the difficulty of developing character. It also reveals that he feels it would not be such a bad thing if he did not have to write this story. Macaba's stay in the bathroom continues: This illusion soon passed and she saw her entire face distorted by the tarnished mirror; her nose had grown as huge as those false noses made of papier mch donned by circus clowns. She studied herself and mused: so young and yet so tarnished (25). This event makes it seem that like many of us, Macaba struggles with her identity. However, this contradicts what Rodrigo said about her earlier; he often mentioned how unconscious she was of her own existence. Because she is belittling her appearance, it is more likely that at this moment, Rodrigo is speaking for her in order to expose her true identity. Macaba wakes up every morning not sure of who she is. When she comes to her senses, she reflects with satisfaction: I am a typist and a virgin, and I like coca-cola" (35). Then when she took a day off of work and danced around her room in a way she knew would upset her deceased aunt, Rodrigo wondered about her sudden impulse to act daringly. He said: "Perhaps

Takahashi 3 she needed special conditions in order to become appealing. Why hadn't she always behaved like this? Even looking at herself in the mirror was no longer quite so alarming: she was contented but how it ached" (42). Rodrigo now feels adoration for his character and gives her ignorance a touch of courage to show sympathy for the misfortune she endures. But, despite his feelings for her, the duty he feels towards writing out her story is still a small burden. Rodrigo later mentions again that "Olmpico concerned himself with important things but Macaba only noticed unimportant things such as herself" (51). Macaba continued to be oblivious to her own existence, but like people in modern society, yearned to be important. When she confides in her boyfriend Olmpico that she wishes to be like Marilyn Monroe, he only responds with "What makes you think you that you've got the face or the body to become a film star? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror" (53). So even with Rodrigos support, Macaba is caught between who she is, what she wants to be, and how others see her. Through this, the reader can see that as a writer, Rodrigo feels compassion for his creation, but that in the development of a story there are more significant matters to be discussed. Struggling with her physical appearance after Olmpico left her, Macaba returned to the bathroom to look in the mirror. She took out her red lipstick and found the courage to put it on in order to improve her image. "When she had finished, she stood staring at herself in the mirror, at a face which stared back in astonishment. The thick lipstick looked like blood spurting from a nasty gash, as if someone had punched her on the mouth and broken her front teeth (small bang). When she went back to her desk Glria chuckled" (61). Rodrigo acknowledged in the beginning that he is writing of a girl like the thousands living in poverty in Brazil. In the event concerning the lipstick, she is not only a reflection of Rodrigos personal feelings, but also the reality of the

Takahashi 4 girls struggling to survive in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. That is shown when Glria laughs and compares the lipstick-wearing Macaba to the underprivileged females that need to sell themselves to in order to live. Glria, feeling sorry, suggests that Macaba ask a fortune teller for guidance. Glria recounts her own experience with Madame Carlota, telling Macaba about the blood that was sacrificed. Macaba feels doubtful that she could tolerate it, and is not sure why she is afraid of spilled blood. Rodrigo contributes, Perhaps because blood is everyone's secret, that life-giving tragedy. But Macaba only knew that she could not stomach the sight of blood, the other reflections were mine" (70). Rodrigos use of the word reflections as opposed to thoughts is very distinguishing. He has previously referred to the action of looking in a mirror so often that it is as if this same reflection is a physical one. Again, like in the beginning of the novel, Rodrigo tells the reader in a very covert way how much influence he has over his character.

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