In The Starlit Hour, Clarice Lispector includes a page before the story providing alternative titles she was considering for the book. These titles are significant in analyzing the novel as many of them come from references within the text and the chosen title emphasizes those aspects of the story. If The Hour of the Star had been titled The Right to Scream, or She Can't Scream, the interpretation of the novel would change; instead of having the story culminate at the end of Macabea's life - her star hour - these alternative titles highlight themes of expression and creation. The idea of ​​Rodrigo speaking for Macabea and telling her story gives insight into her troubled and unexpressed personality; she who has truly earned the right to scream is unable to express herself. In The Hour of the Star, Lispector incorporates the themes of creation and perspective as well as the motif of sound to demonstrate how Rodrigo's narration of Macabea's life forms an entity that serves to represent much more than just an individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Throughout the novel, Lispector incorporates the theme of creation, suggesting that Rodrigo creates the character of Macabea, and the idea that writing can form an existence represents how Rodrigo's narrative serves to expose his life in a way she couldn't do herself. Although Rodrigo is the narrator, he does not reveal much about himself; the purpose of his novel is to tell Macabea's story of poverty and misfortune in an absolutely authentic and truthful way. Lispector demonstrates how he considers his writing to be more than just fiction when he says, "This isn't just fiction, it's mostly primal life breathing, breathing, breathing" (5), and later, "this story will be made of words ". which are collected in sentences and from these emanates a secret meaning that goes beyond words and sentences" (6). It's almost as if the story was writing itself and Rodrigo was simply the outlet; it is simply the source that unmasks Macabea and the entire social class she serves to represent. When he says “the story is true even if invented” (4), he insinuates that, although perhaps Macabea's individual character does not exist, her story is true, because it summarizes a life of hardship within her social class. At the beginning of the novel, Rodrigo talks about how he is afraid of idealizing Macabea's life; since Rodrigo is upper-middle class, it is difficult for him to see the world from his perspective. When he says, "To talk about the girl, I can't shave for days and I must have dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep, dozing off from sheer tiredness, I'm a manual laborer" (11), Lispector is demonstrating how Rodrigo stoops to his level to adequately narrate his life. Rodrigo's obsession with telling Macabea's story in the most honest way suggests that she has a story to tell, but one she couldn't tell herself, and this is directly linked to both alternative titles; Macabea has suffered greatly throughout her life and has therefore earned "the right to scream", but due to her ignorance and passivity she does not know how - and Rodrigo, the intellectual, must therefore, through his writing, scream for she; he writes: “It is my obligation to talk about this girl among thousands like her. It is my duty, however naively, to reveal his life. Because there is the right to scream. Then I scream” (5). Rodrigo, however, does not tell Macabea's story just to give her a voice - he also does it for himself - he seeks meaning in his life, and by metaphorically transfiguring himself into her and allowing her to "scream", he begins a journey of self-discovery. Rodrigo describes Macabea as if nothad virtually no self-awareness and no thoughts, saying, “You are incompetent. Incompetent for life. He never understood how to solve things” (17). He suggests that Macabea's ignorance is a psychological consequence of her poverty, as she is too ignorant and weak to stop and think about existence. “Maca, however, never said sentences, first of all because he was a person of few words. And it just so happens that he had no self-awareness and didn't complain at all, he even believed he was happy” (60). However, in describing himself he appears unsure about the nature of existence; he is desperate and cynical: “Am I a monster? Is this what it means to be a person?” (7). Thus, in attempting to see the world through the perspective of its polar opposite, a woman who never questions herself but rather “lives simply, breathing in and breathing out, breathing in and breathing out” (15), perhaps finds a sense of relief. She demonstrates this desire when she says, “Why should I write about a young girl whose poverty is not even adorned? Perhaps because within her there is seclusion and also because in the poverty of body and spirit I touch sanctity, I who want to feel the breath of my afterlife” (12). Through Macabea, Rodrigo is able to realize something that he does not have in his personal life, something “beyond”, and Lispector connects this to the theme of creation, because perhaps by creating the character of Macabea, Rodrigo is able to access an entity bigger. of life itself. Lispector expands on this idea when Rodrigo says, “I am fully aware of her: through this young woman I cry out my horror of life” (25). Becoming fully aware of her, he screams, referencing the alternative titles, and in doing so finds an outlet for his pain as well as laying bare hers. Therefore, by providing these alternative titles consistent with Rodrigo's narrative, Lispector changes the effect of the novel by emphasizing the character's dependent relationship - she needs him to exist and he needs her to be content - a dynamic that is not so evident from the title The Hour of the Star. In the novel, Lispector incorporates the motif of sound and music to demonstrate that the nature of the story goes beyond words and sentences, and perhaps the melody that seems to accompany the plot is an expression of Macabea's repressed emotions, because "She doesn't he knows how to scream." Rodrigo conveys the meaning of music in his story when he says, “I forgot to mention that everything I don't write is accompanied by the emphatic sound of a drum being beaten by a soldier. The moment I begin my story, suddenly the drumming will stop” (14). It demonstrates not only the importance of sound but also the lack thereof; silence is extremely significant throughout the novel, because Macabea is described as “a struggling pack” (71). Rodrigo must speak for her and incorporates music to help him do so. Furthermore, the word “explosion” in brackets is used consistently throughout the novel after every major event in Macabea's life. The use of this word links to the idea of ​​the drum that accompanies the text, and Rodrigo further supports the idea that the music serves to give insight into Macabea's emotions when he says: "I am hearing the chords of a cheerful piano - could it be the symbol that the girl's life could have a splendid future?” (22).By incorporating different instruments within the musical motif, Rodrigo manages to create a symphony, an additional work of art in his literature that serves as another outlet for Macabea, another way in which he can scream At the end of novel, after Macabea's death, Rodrigo refers to music for the last time through metaphor when he says, "In the end she was nothing but a slightly out of tune music box" (77)..