BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH: EXISTENTIAL ANGUISH AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IN CLARICE LISPECTOR AND HEIDEGGER

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between death and existential anguish in the work The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector, in the light of Heidegger's philosophy. The character Macabéa, marked by a lack of self-knowledge, faces death as a moment of existential revelation. Heidegger sees death as a constitutive possibility of being, which defines Dasein and the relationship of the individual with himself. Death, more than a physical end, is a condition for self-knowledge and the meaning of life. The article concludes that both Lispector and Heidegger challenge us to confront our finitude in order to find meaning in existence.