-
Edla van Steen / The Sleeping Beauty (Script of a Useless Life) (1978)
- Indiana University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Edla van Steen Edla van Steen was born in 1936, in Florian6polis, the capital of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. She has resided in Sao Paulo for nearly thirty years, where she has worked in theater and cinema as an actress and scriptwriter. She has written several volumes of stories and novels, and is the editor of 0 Conto da Mulher Brasileira (1978) (The Brazilian Woman's Short Story), one of the first anthologies dedicated to contemporary women's fiction. Van Steen writes about heterosexual and homosexual love in contemporary society. Many of her stories have been anthologized, and two have recently appeared in collections devoted to Brazilian erotic literature . She also writes children's books, and has translated into Portuguese works by Katherine Mansfield, Henrik Ibsen, and Robert Louis Stevenson. One of the most interesting aspects of her fiction is its unusual form. The technique of the story "A Bela Adormecida" (The Sleeping Beauty) is clearly influenced by her extensive work in theater and movies. 180 The Sleeping Beauty (Script of a Useless Life) (1978) For Lenita 1st SEQUENCE Agile hands gather up small objects on top of the furniture; carpets are hurriedly rolled up and chairs are placed close to the walls. The maid executes this task with the efficiency of someone who has done it before. At times, she uses her sleeve to wipe away the sadness that persists in running down her cheeks. She does it now, when she stops to look at the garden as if she'd just seen me. She's distracted by the harsh sounds of the men taking silver coffin racks, tall candlesticks, and a crucifix out of rough wooden boxes. The family and the coffin won't be long in arriving-she makes the sign of the cross and returns to the kitchen. It's three in the afternoon on a cloudy autumn day. F~bio penetrates the devastated atmosphere and sits down in front of the empty racks. He's moved by his own solitude, in a place that now seems strange, as if he were witnessing the scene and not participating in it. Then he sees his figure reflected in the mirror. He gives a sigh and tries to tum his attention to details of the room. Isn't my self-portrait attractive? Perhaps my painting has stirred up hidden memories in him, for he doesn't even notice Mariana, dear childhood friend, who's standing at the wideopened door, surprised by his presence. 2nd SEQUENCE Little by little the house and garden fill with people. Does Fabio regret having come? Reencountering so many acquaintances, under these circumstances, is painful. I was astonished by his being the first to 181 [174.129.190.10] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 15:03 GMT) 182 Edla van Steen arrive. I never imagined so much attentiveness. He must have acted spontaneously, because, had he thought about it, he would have been the last person to show up. I'm moved by his tragic look, so individual, so integral, so self-contained. I kiss his forehead, gratefully. He brushes away the suspicion of a caress, interesting himself in the recent arrivals. In particular, he stares at the governess, who has just appeared at the front door, bringing Luis from school. Poor child, he's going on six years old. He's frightened by Aunt Miloca's crying. Coming up to the boy, she embraces him, tearfully. Luis brutally pushes her away, runs to Matilde and gives her his hand. Hard German woman. She totally disapproves of the behavior of my poor dear aunt, who's from another era and controls her nerves less. I wonder about the child's reaction. Children are unpredictable . Who knows, he may think that all these people are commemorating some event. The governess takes him upstairs. It's his bath time. She did well. A kid shouldn't participate in these things. 3rd SEQUENCE Mariana and Alice have retreated under the fig tree. They isolated themselves on purpose. Alice talks about the visit I made to her last night, my complaints, my dissatisfaction with my canvases, my invitation to go to the movies. A Bergman film. We argued a lot about the Swedish filmmaker-probably because she didn't want to come to grips with other problems. Fear that I'd question her about her affair with my husband? Goodness, I'd never do that. She never opened herself up about personal matters, carefully maintaining an appearance...