Rodrigo S. M. and the neurotic subject: From Obsession with the Word to the Invention of Macabéa

Abstract

This study proposes an analysis of the psychological construction of Rodrigo S. M., the narrator-character of Clarice Lispector’s novel The Hour of the Star. Drawing on Freudian theories of neurosis and Lacanian conceptions regarding the subject's relationship with language, the research aims to understand how the narrative fabric is structured through the narrator’s subjective affections in the
creation of the character Macabéa. The methodology adopted is qualitative, based on bibliographic review, taking as its starting point the contributions of key authors in the aforementioned theoretical fields. The main theoretical references include the works of Freud (2006, 2010, 2004), Lacan (1985), Tepperman (1999), and Rancière (2009). The analysis reveals that Rodrigo S. M. projects onto Macabéa elements of his own anguish, evidencing an attempt at symbolic elaboration of his psychic suffering through writing. Thus, the character emerges not merely as a fictional creation, but as a reflection and symptom of the narrator himself, whose construction highlights the entanglement between writing, language, and subjectivity.