Desejo, identidade e espacialidade em James Baldwin

Abstract

The aim of this academic paper is to do a cartography of the desire, the identitiy and the space, among other issues which are related to the difference, on the novel Giovanni`s Room, produced in 1956 by African American writer James Baldwin. From my particular reading of the novel, there is the perception that the relationship between the couple David and Giovanni is the core of the narrative. Concerning the issue of desire, I will discuss it as multiplicity. Furthermore, regarding identity, I will discuss its subversive character, the diaspora and the in-between, which are snippets that I consider very meaningful to the novel and its author. Regarding the matter of space, through my point of view, it has a peripheral atmosphere, which reflects the social marginalization of the characters that inhabit and move around it. Moreover, the masculinity, which I also consider as a significant issue in the work of Baldwin is connected, in my conception, to sexual ambiguity. I emphasize that, considering the matters of space and masculinity, this research will approach Giovannni`s Room, but it will be also extended to the novels Another Country and Just Above My Head, also written by Baldwin, for their construction is marked, through my point of view, by the difference. In order to better conduct this academic paper, I will select a theoretical framework, which includes Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Georges Battaile, Homi Bhabha, Gaston Bachelard, Fernando Seffner and other contributors.