FORBIDDEN DESIRE AS A MARK OF CHILD OPPRESSION IN THE SHORT STORY “CHINELA EMBORCADA”, BY ILDEFONSO GUIMARÃES

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze the narrative “Chinela Emborcada”, by Ildefonso Guimarães, through a reading that addresses themes such as violence perpetrated against children or young people, which may have brutal consequences. The aim of this work lies in attempting to answer ontological questions that permeate the subject, questions still relevant in today’s social context: why resort to brutality and deny children the right to a happy and healthy childhood? Focusing on Ildefonso’s diegesis, which preserves the narratological density necessary to elicit empathy and reflection in the reader, the methodology ranges from perspectives grounded in recent theories on youth protection to the concepts employed by Winnicott’s psychoanalysis, which dealt with the theme of mother–child proximity and bonding. By discussing a stage of life that should be marked by learning and positive discoveries, this study concludes that such rights of the child are withheld in the short story, as the adult still considers himself superior and subjugates the child violently, punishing him disproportionately in varied situations.