ONE OF THE WORST FACES OF MASCULINITIES: CONJUGAL VIOLENCE IN SHORT STORIES BY MIA COUTO AND RUBEM FONSECA

This article aims to focus one of the issues related to masculinities: domestic violence practiced by men against women. The representation of the problem is built through the analysis of two selected short stories: "Saide, the Tin of Water", by Mia Couto, and "Man can't hit a woman", by Rubem Fonseca, both written in Portuguese between the end of 20th century and the beginning of 21st century. The introduction regards the connections between violence and masculinities, its presence in conjugal life and the role of literature in the presentation of these issues. Among the main topics which arise from the short stories, there are the domination, the sense that woman is the husband's property and neighbours' responses against the episodes of aggression. The use of violence becomes a masculine strategy to conceal the vulnerability and the impotence; on the other hand, the reactions against conjugal aggressions help to stimulate attempts of change. The readings of authors such as Buchbinder, Connell, Machado, Nolasco, Virgili and Welzer-Lang, among others, are made to approximate literary interpretations to theories of masculinities. These readings yet contribute to investigate if and how the short stories can constitute alternative narratives to new moods for being a man.