THE SUBVERSION OF SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS OF THE FEMININE: A DIALOGIC-DISCURSIVE READING OF THE CHARACTER THEREZA, IN “COISA MAIS LINDA”

A DIALOGIC-DISCURSIVE READING OF THE CHARACTER THEREZA, IN “COISA MAIS LINDA”

Abstract

This article proposes a discursive reading of the character Thereza, from the series “Coisa Mais Linda” (Netflix, 2019), based on the assumptions of Dialogic Discourse Analysis. It begins with the understanding of language as a space of confrontation between social voices, in which meanings are constituted by the interaction and juxtaposition of ideological positions. The investigation seeks to observe how Thereza's discourse reveals discursive clashes, configuring movements of resistance and identity affirmation in a markedly oppressive context concerning the female subject. To this end, we align ourselves with the Dialogic Theory of Language (Voloshinov, 2017; Bakhtin, 2016; Medvedev, 2012). Furthermore, we base our reflection on contributions that problematize the historical and discursive construction of female identities (Butler, 2022; Beauvoir, 1980). From a methodological point of view, the study is qualitative (Paiva, 2019), descriptive (Prodanov and Freitas, 2013), and uses an interpretative approach (Bortoni-Ricardo, 2008). It relies on the analysis of scenes from the first season of the series, observing statements that reveal tensions between authoritarian discourses and active responsive responses. The results indicate that, from a dialogical perspective, the character's speech is not reduced to the representation of a social condition, but acts as an enunciative practice of struggle and intervention in reality, establishing new meanings and reconfiguring the position of women.