Clarice Lispector facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clarice Lispector
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Lispector in 1969
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| Born | Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector December 10, 1920 Chechelnyk, Ukrainian People's Republic |
| Died | December 9, 1977 (aged 56) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Pen name | Helen Palmer, Teresa Quadros |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Spouse |
Maury Gurgel Valente
(m. 1943; div. 1959) |
| Children | 2 |
Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector; December 10, 1920 – December 9, 1977) was a famous Brazilian writer. She was born in Ukraine but moved to Brazil as a baby. Her books are known for exploring deep thoughts and feelings. She became famous at just 23 years old with her first novel, Near to the Wild Heart.
Clarice lived in Europe and the United States for many years after marrying a Brazilian diplomat. When she returned to Brazil in 1959, she continued to write important books like Family Ties and The Passion According to G.H.. Even after an accident in 1966, she kept writing until her death in 1977. Today, her works are celebrated around the world.
Contents
Clarice Lispector's Early Life
Clarice Lispector was born Chaya Lispector in Chechelnyk, Ukraine. She was the youngest of three daughters. Her family faced many difficulties during the Russian Civil War. They eventually fled to Romania and then sailed to Brazil in 1922. Clarice was just over a year old when they arrived.
Upon arriving in Brazil, her family changed their names. Chaya became Clarice, her father Pinkhas became Pedro, and her mother Mania became Marieta. They first settled in Maceió before moving to Recife, Pernambuco.
Growing Up in Recife
In Recife, Clarice's family continued to face financial struggles. Her mother, Marieta, passed away when Clarice was nine years old. Clarice attended a school that taught Hebrew and Yiddish, along with regular subjects. In 1932, she got into the Ginásio Pernambucano, a top high school. A year later, she decided she wanted to be a writer.
In 1935, her father moved the family to Rio de Janeiro, hoping for better opportunities. Clarice entered law school in 1937. Her first story, "Triunfo," was published in a magazine in 1940. Sadly, her father died later that year after an operation.
While still in law school, Clarice started working as a journalist. She wrote for the government press and a major newspaper called A Noite. She met other young Brazilian writers. In 1943, she became a Brazilian citizen and married Maury Gurgel Valente, a diplomat.
Becoming a Famous Writer
In December 1943, Clarice published her first novel, Perto do coração selvagem (Near to the Wild Heart). The book was a big hit and focused on the inner thoughts of a young woman named Joana. It was considered very new and exciting in Brazil.
In 1944, the book won the important Graça Aranha Prize. Critics praised it, with one calling it "the greatest novel a woman has ever written in the Portuguese language." Many people thought her writing style was like Virginia Woolf or James Joyce. However, Clarice said she read those authors only after her book was finished.
Soon after, Clarice and Maury moved to Belém, a city at the mouth of the Amazon River. Maury worked there during World War II.
Life Abroad
In 1944, Clarice left Brazil for the first time since she was a child. She went to Naples, Italy, where Maury was working. She helped at a military hospital there, caring for wounded Brazilian soldiers. In Rome, she met the poet Giuseppe Ungaretti.
She finished her second novel, O Lustre (The Chandelier), in Naples. This book also explored the inner life of a girl. It was well-received by critics. After a short visit to Brazil, Clarice and Maury moved to Bern, Switzerland, in 1946. Clarice found Switzerland boring and often felt sad there.
Living in Switzerland and England
Her first son, Pedro, was born in Bern in 1948. While there, she wrote her third novel, A cidade sitiada (The Besieged City). This book tells the story of a town growing into a big city. It was not as popular as her earlier works.
In 1949, after almost a year back in Rio, Clarice and Maury moved to Torquay, England. They stayed there until 1951. Clarice liked England.
Moving to the United States
In 1952, back in Rio, Clarice published a small collection of six stories called Alguns contos (Some Stories). These stories later became part of her famous book Laços de família (Family Ties). She also wrote a women's column for a newspaper using the name Teresa Quadros.
In September 1952, her family moved to Washington, D.C., in the United States. They lived there until 1959. Her second son, Paulo, was born in 1953. Clarice became friends with other Brazilian writers and important people. However, she grew tired of the diplomatic life. She missed her sisters and Brazil very much. In June 1959, she decided to leave her husband and return to Rio de Janeiro with her sons. She lived there for the rest of her life.
Final Years and Major Works
Back in Brazil, Clarice faced financial challenges. She worked hard to find publishers for her new books.
Family Ties and The Apple in the Dark
Her book of stories, Laços de família (Family Ties), was published in 1960. It included her earlier stories and new ones. A friend called it "the best book of stories ever published in Brazil." Another famous writer, Érico Veríssimo, said it was the most important story collection since Machado de Assis, a classic Brazilian novelist.
Her novel A Maçã no escuro (The Apple in the Dark), which she started in England, was finally published in 1961. This was her longest and most complex novel. It was about a man who thought he had killed his wife. The book won the Carmen Dolores Barbosa Prize in 1962.
The Passion According to G.H. and The Foreign Legion
In 1964, Clarice published A paixão segundo G.H., one of her most famous and surprising books. It describes a woman's deep, spiritual experience. In the same year, she published The Foreign Legion, another collection of stories.
An American translator, Gregory Rabassa, met Clarice in the 1960s. He said she looked like a movie star but wrote like Virginia Woolf.
On September 14, 1966, Clarice had a terrible accident in her apartment. She fell asleep with a lit cigarette and was badly burned. Her right hand was almost lost.
The next year, she published her first children's book, O Mistério do coelho pensante (The Mystery of the Thinking Rabbit). In August 1967, she started writing a weekly column for a major Rio newspaper, the Jornal do Brasil. These columns made her even more famous. They were later collected in a book called A Descoberta do mundo (The Discovery of the World).
Later Books and Final Novel
In 1968, Clarice took part in protests against Brazil's military government. She also published two more books: her second children's book, A Mulher que matou os peixes (The Woman Who Killed the Fish), and the novel An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures. This novel was a love story between a teacher and a philosophy professor.
In 1971, she published another story collection, Felicidade clandestina (Covert Joy). Many of these stories were based on her childhood memories in Recife. She then started working on Água Viva (The Stream of Life), which many consider her best work. When it came out in 1973, it was instantly praised as a masterpiece.
In 1974, Clarice published two more story collections: Onde estivestes de noite (Where Were You at Night) and A via crucis do corpo (The Via Crucis of the Body). The second book was written very quickly, in just three days! She also started painting and translating books by authors like Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe.
In 1975, she was invited to a big meeting about magic in Colombia. This event brought her even more attention.
Clarice worked on a book called Um sopro de vida: pulsações (A Breath of Life: Pulsations), which was published after her death. Her final and most famous novel was A Hora da estrela (The Hour of the Star), published in 1977. This book tells the story of Macabéa, a poor typist from a small town who gets lost in the big city of Rio de Janeiro. The book was special because it openly talked about poverty in Brazil.
Death
Soon after The Hour of the Star was published, Clarice Lispector became very ill. She had ovarian cancer, but she was not told the full diagnosis. She passed away on December 9, 1977, the day before her 57th birthday. She was buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Caju in Rio de Janeiro.
Awards and Honors
- 2013 Best Translated Book Award, shortlist, A Breath of Life: Pulsations
- 2016 PEN Translation Prize, winner, The Complete Stories
- In 2018, a Google Doodle celebrated her 98th birthday.
See also
In Spanish: Clarice Lispector para niños
- Brazilian literature
- Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector
- Benjamin Moser
Images for kids
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Lispector in 1969
