When “the Life of Sentiments Is Extremely Bourgeois”: Ideal Love and Nonconformism in the Love Poems of Hilda Hilst

Abstract

The common misconception in studies of Hilda Hilst is that her work can be divided into two stages, the work before her foray into “pornographic” aesthetics and the work that followed this supposed pivot. Yet when read as a whole, Hilst’s poetic production reveals a remarkable unity owing to the author’s sustained and consistent engagement with erotic themes. This chapter explains the evolution of Hilst’s poetic personae and the poet’s renovation of classical, Renaissance, and modern tropes of love poetry, which she used to imbue her erotic poetry with spiritual and philosophical significance.

Fico perplexa como uma criança ao notar que mesmo no amor tem-se que ter bom senso e senso de medida. Ah, a vida dos sentimentos é extremamente burguesa.

—Clarice Lispector ¹