Entre becos e grades: a punição e a persistência do controle sobre corpos negros femininos a partir de Becos da Memória

Abstract

This article analyzes the imprisonment of Ditinha, a character from Becos da Memória (2017) by Conceição Evaristo, as a symbol of the enduring legacy of slavery-era control over Black female bodies in post-abolition Brazil. By stealing a brooch from her employer, Ditinha embodies the penal selectivity that criminalizes Black women, reflecting structural racism and the intersection of race, gender, and class. The novel denounces institutional violence, domestic labor exploitation, compulsory motherhood, and social exclusion that sustain punitive logic. Through escrevivência (1995), Evaristo gives voice to historically silenced experiences, exposing how the justice system perpetuates marginalization. The novel thus becomes both a political and literary denunciation of racial, gendered, and social inequalities. Ditinha’s journey ultimately symbolizes the fight for justice, memory, and Black reexistence.