Figurações da bruxa na literatura

As reconstruções modernas de Tituba e Circe nas obras de Maryse Condé e Madeline Miller

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how the image of the witch is represented in contemporary literature, investigating whether she is predominantly portrayed as a historical and marginalized victim or as a symbol of female strength and empowerment. In view of this, the study will focus on the theme of witchcraft in the works I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem (1986) and Circe (2018), both of which reinterpret female characters associated with magic.  The central objective is to analyze how authors Maryse Condé and Madeline Miller reconstruct the figures of Tituba and Circe in their works, with an emphasis on the representation of witchcraft as a symbolic and critical dimension of these characters. In order to understand how Condé and Miller reinterpret these mythical figures, this research proposes to: examine the experiences of oppression and marginalization experienced by Circe and Tituba; investigate how these characters contribute to the deconstruction of stereotypes associated with witches, highlighting their subversive potential; and, finally, analyze the relevance of these reinterpretations to contemporary debates in the field of literature. As a theoretical foundation, the research is based on the concepts of literary revisionism proposed by Adrienne Rich, in addition to the feminist theories of Silvia Bovenschen, Justyna Sempruch, and Mona Chollet on the historical and transgressive role of witches. Finally, the study aims to provide a general analysis of the figure of the witch in contemporary literature, contributing to a broader understanding of its symbolic representations and current relevance.

Keywords: Witches. Re-readings. Literature. Tituba.