On September 25, researcher Bárbara Bom Angelo will speak on “Os não-lugares e a persistente sensação de deslocamento em Normal People, de Sally Rooney.” The lecture aims to analyze how social and geographical mobility intensifies the protagonists’ sense of non-belonging in Normal People, starting from the moment they obtain a prestigious scholarship. We will examine how Connell, as a class defector (Pierre Bourdieu), experiences guilt and displacement as he navigates non-places (Marc Augé) in Continental Europe, as well as new spaces and social roles at university, which heighten his disconnection from his roots in Carricklea and culminate in the anguish symbolized by his friend Rob’s suicide. Meanwhile, Marianne seeks in Sweden an escape from family violence, but the transience and anonymity she encounters do not bring the liberation she expected; instead, they provide the ideal backdrop for a new abusive relationship. Rooney, therefore, uses these dynamics to reveal that, paradoxically, the protagonists’ seemingly positive achievements end up deepening their psychological and social wounds, reflecting the structural failures of an Irish society in crisis.
Bárbara Bom Angelo is a journalist and holds a Master’s degree in Linguistic and Literary Studies in English. She researches the work of Sally Rooney, focusing on how the Irish author engages literature in dialogue with the socioeconomic context of Ireland in the years following the 2008 financial crisis.
“Encontro com os Estudos Irlandeses” is an initiative of the W. B. Yeats Chair of Irish Studies and aims to discuss contemporary themes in the field of Irish Studies through the research of graduate students from the Graduate Program in Linguistic and Literary Studies in English (FFLCH/USP).
Date: September 25, 2PM
Venue: Ireland Corner, Aucani
Address: Avenida Prof. Lúcio Martins Rodrigues, 310 - Bloco B, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo