Domestic Work and the Afropessimist Geographies of Suffering in Brazilian Literature

Domestic work is a pillar of Brazil’s racial capitalism. The profession is widely recognized as a legacy of enslavement that keeps approximately 7 million people—most of whom are black women—in social and economic captivity. Like in Anna Muylaert’s film Que horas ela volta? ( The Second Mother , Anna Muylaert, 2015), Solitária (“ Lonely ” 2022), by Eliana Alves Cruz, depicts domestic work as a social evil to be eradicated. Moreover, Cruz fictionalizes the death of 5-year-old Miguel Otávio Santana da Silva, underscoring the tragic consequences of negligence by his mother’s employer. In this study, I argue that Cruz uses spatial images to advocate for the end of domestic work and to criticize nation-building projects that profit from the exploitation of Black women. I explore Afropessimist theories, which critique the foundational role of anti-blackness in sustaining social structures, alongside the works of Carolina Maria de Jesus, Beatriz Nascimento, and Lélia Gonzalez. I explore the discourse on Afropessimism in Brazil. Like the solitary confinement that gives its name to Cruz’s novel, spaces of containment can promote anti-Black violence. Afropessimism questions the liberatory capabilities of different spaces by recognizing Black suffering as necessary for the maintenance of current power structures.