Psychological violence in contemporary literature:

scenes of the invisible

Abstract

In the legal and social sphere, it was only in the 21st century that mental and psychological abuse was recognised as a form of violence, especially against women, known as psychological violence. In the fictional universe, however, and here we highlight literature, the issue had already been indirectly addressed at least since the 19th century, giving signs of the existence of this imperceptible violence, of the symbolic field, which would come to be named later. Today, the discussion permeates the work of various literatures across the globe, especially in writing done by women. In this perspective, we want to demonstrate the presence of psychological violence in contemporary women’s literature in two works: “In the dream house”, by the American author Carmen Maria Machado, and “Com todo o meu rancor”, by the Brazilian author Bruna Maia.