Men in transit: The spectrum of masculinity in Caio Fernando Abreu’s White Limit (1970)

Abstract

In the present work, we aim at discussing the construction of subjectivity in relation to gender categories, especially in regards to male identity, in Caio Fernando Abreu’s first novel White Limit (Original title: Limite branco, 1970). We believe that the protagonist’s process of aging, alongside with his subject’s formation, in the narrative, takes us to face a fluidity, which puts at stake the notions of what is taken for granted as appropriate for the  individual.  Studies on the displacement of the contemporary subject, Gender Studies, and on men's studies in particular, will serve as the theoretical apparatus for the discussions raised here.