The Symmetry of Desire in Uma leve simetria by Rafael Bán Jacobsen
-
Darrell B. Lockhart
Abstract
This article analyzes the novel Uma leve simetria (2009) by Brazilian author Rafael Bán Jacobsen through an examination of the representation of queer Jewish identity in relation to religious orthodoxy. The author identifies the novel as a key text in an emerging body of queer Jewish literature and situates it in the larger context of Brazilian, and by extension Latin American queer literary production. Desire is a central trope in the novel, which is analyzed as a literary device that provides the framework for the narrative. At the heart of the plot is the conflict between Judaic law and same-sex desire. This conflict is primarily examined by focusing on intertextuality with biblical master narratives, which is explored at length. Jacobsen successfully connects Jewish biblical narrative with present-day reality to underscore the tensions between tradition and contemporary identity issues. Ultimately, Uma leve simetria presents the uniqueness of the Jewish Brazilian cultural environment as a context for exploring broader, universal questions of queer and Jewish affinity.
© 2022 by Academic Studies Press
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Table of Contents
- Introduction to Special Issue on Gender and Sexuality in Latin American Jewish Studies
- ARTICLES
- “Viejas pisadas”: Activating Postvernacular Ladino in the Works of Myriam Moscona
- Jewish Brazilian Post-Holocaust Fiction: The Body as a Source of Polymorphous Memory Discourse in Cíntia Moscovich’s Por que sou gorda, mamãe?
- Mujeres errantes: Cuerpo, género y política revolucionaria en el cine judío latinoamericano
- The Symmetry of Desire in Uma leve simetria by Rafael Bán Jacobsen
- BOOK REVIEWS
- Kaminsky, Amy K. The Other/Argentina: Jews, Gender, and Sexuality in the Making of a Modern Nation
- Strejilevich, Nora. Un día, allá por el fin del mundo
- Limonic, Laura. 2019. Kugel and Frijoles: Latino Jews in the United States
- Skura, Susana y Melina Noelia di Miro, comps-eds. El dibuk-Entre dos mundos. Un siglo de metáforas
- Cohen, Mario Eduardo. América Colonial Judía: Jews in the Colonial Americas
- Kałczewiak, Mariusz. Polacos in Argentina: Polish Jews, Interwar Migration, and the Emergence of Transatlantic Jewish Culture
- Contributors
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Table of Contents
- Introduction to Special Issue on Gender and Sexuality in Latin American Jewish Studies
- ARTICLES
- “Viejas pisadas”: Activating Postvernacular Ladino in the Works of Myriam Moscona
- Jewish Brazilian Post-Holocaust Fiction: The Body as a Source of Polymorphous Memory Discourse in Cíntia Moscovich’s Por que sou gorda, mamãe?
- Mujeres errantes: Cuerpo, género y política revolucionaria en el cine judío latinoamericano
- The Symmetry of Desire in Uma leve simetria by Rafael Bán Jacobsen
- BOOK REVIEWS
- Kaminsky, Amy K. The Other/Argentina: Jews, Gender, and Sexuality in the Making of a Modern Nation
- Strejilevich, Nora. Un día, allá por el fin del mundo
- Limonic, Laura. 2019. Kugel and Frijoles: Latino Jews in the United States
- Skura, Susana y Melina Noelia di Miro, comps-eds. El dibuk-Entre dos mundos. Un siglo de metáforas
- Cohen, Mario Eduardo. América Colonial Judía: Jews in the Colonial Americas
- Kałczewiak, Mariusz. Polacos in Argentina: Polish Jews, Interwar Migration, and the Emergence of Transatlantic Jewish Culture
- Contributors
