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ELSEVIER Journal o f Pragmatics 23 (1995) 183-197

A critical discourse analysis of gender relations in BrazilM a r i a I z a b e l S . M a g a l h ~ e s

Depa rtamen to de Lingii lstica, Lfnguas Cl6ssicas e Vernc~cula, Universidade d e Brasf f ia,70.910-900 Brasilia-DF, Brazil

Received January 1993 ; revised version December 1993

AbstractGender relat ions in Brazi l are focused in this paper from the perspect ive of language, asseen in presupposi t ions and commonsense assumptions. Presupposi t ions, viewed as part ofthe intertextual context , are analyzed to show how underlying processes of language play asignificant part in reproducing unequal power relations. The analysis of three different textsshows the relat ion between language and ideology in the construct ion of gender. I t is found

that heterogeneity guides presupposi t ions and commonsense assumptions of texts aboutwomen and texts produced by women in Brazi l , indicat ing two main forms of coexistence:the discourse o f control and the discourse o f l iberation. Further, behind the discourse o f l ib-erat ion, one wil l register the discourse of control which derives from the dominating genderof a basically patriarchal society. In the big cities, however, the analysis shows that womenhave a social identity derived from the struggle for civil rights.Thus, while two of the texts are representat ive of the tension between the discourse of con-trol and the discourse of liberation in this society, the third one reveals a discourse change inprogress: l iberated from the conservat ive patr iarchal discourse, women demand that theirrights be made explicit in the Constitution.

1. I n t r o d u c t i o n

T h e p u r p o s e o f t h is p a p e r i s t o in v e s t ig a t e g e n d e r r e la t i o n s i n B r a z il b y m e a n s o fa c r it ic a l a n a l y s is o f p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a n d c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s i n t ex t s. A na n a l y s is o f li n g u is t ic t r a ce s a n d c o n t e x t u a l c u e s w i l l a tt e m p t t o s h o w t h a t l a n g u a g ep l a y s a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n t h e d i s c o u r s e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f w o m e n . W h a t i s s a id a b o u tw o m e n a n d w h a t w o m e n s a y w i l l d e p e n d i n p a r t o n t h e l i n g u i s t i c m e a n s w h i c h i sso c i a l l y av a i l ab l e .

T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f l an g u a g e i n d i s c u s si o n s o f w o m e n ' s p l a ce c a n b e s e e n i n r e c e n ts tu d i es . A c c o r d i n g t o s o m e o f t h e s e s tu d i es , w o m e n ' s t e x ts a r e f r a g m e n t e d a s ar e s u lt o f t h e n o n - e x i s t e n c e o f w o r d s t o e x p r e s s w o m e n ' s p a r t i c u l a r e x p e r i e n c e s( C a m e r o n , 1 9 8 5 : 5 ) .0378-2166/95/$09.50 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reservedSSDI 0 3 7 8 - 2 1 6 6 ( 9 3 ) E 0 1 0 1 - 5

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184 M.I.S. Magalhgzes /Journal of Pragmatics 23 (1995) 183-197S o m e w o m e n l in g u is ts c l a i m t h at la n g u a g e b e l o n g s t o m e n , h e n c e w o m e n h a v e t o

u s e a n a li e n a ti n g m e a n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w h i c h i s i n a d e q u a t e t o w o m e n ' s r e a l it y .T h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h is k i n d o f v i e w is e x e m p l i f i e d i n S p e n d e r ' s w o r k ( 1 9 8 0 ). T h e f a c ti s t h a t , b o t h i n E u r o p e a n t r a d i t i o n ( s e m i o l o g i c a l ) a n d i n A m e r i c a n t r a d i t i o n ( a n t h r o -p o l o g i c a l l i n g u i s t i c s ) , l a n g u a g e i s c r u c i a l t o g e n d e r d i s c u s s i o n s .

2 . G e n d e r r e l a t i o n sT h e r e is a g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e i n h o w m e n ' s a n d w o m e n ' s w a y s o f s p e a k in g a r e

v i e w e d i n B r a z i l. 1 T o s p e a k f r o m w o m e n ' s p l a c e i n s o m e s i tu a t io n s m a y n o t h a v ea n y s o c i a l w e i g h t . N o d o u b t s u c h a d i f f e r e n c e h a s c a u s e d a g r e a t n u m b e r o f w o m e nt o b e s i l e n t , a s i n v e r b a l a n d n o n - v e r b a l i n s u l t s a g a i n s t w o m e n i n t r a f f i c . O n t h eo t h e r h a n d , i m p o r t a n t p o li t ic a l d i sc u s s i o n s h a v e t r a d it i o n a ll y b e e n c o n s i d e r e d m e n ' sb u s i n e s s , a l t h o u g h r e c e n t l y a w o m a n h a s h e l d a t o p p o l i ti c a l p o s t - Z 6 1 ia C a r d o s o d eM e l l o , M i n i s t e r o f F i n a n c e f r o m 1 9 9 0 to 1 9 9 1 ( c f . 4 . 2 ) .

H o w e v e r , w o m e n ' s s it u at io n s v a r y c o n s id e r a b ly . W o m e n w h o w o r k o u t s id e t h ei rh o m e s h a v e a l a r g e r s h a r e i n p o l i t i c a l , e c o n o m i c a n d c u l t u r a l d i s c u s s i o n s t h a n t h o s ew h o l o o k a f t e r t h e h o u s e a n d i n t e ra c t in a s m a ll , c l o se c o m m u n i c a t i v e n e t w o r k c o n -s i st in g o f t h e i r f a m i l i e s , r e l a ti v e s a n d f r i e n d s . T h e r e i s a ls o a g r e a t d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e n u r b a n w o m e n , l i v in g i n a c o n t e x t w h i c h i s u n d e r th e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e m e d i a ,a n d r u ra l w o m e n w h o a r e l es s a f fe c t e d b y t h is c o m m u n i c a t i o n p o w e r w h i c h s t a n-d a r d i z e s o p i n i o n s a n d l i n g u i s t i c h a b i t s . A n o t h e r s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a b l e i s s c h o o l i n g . I ns m a l l t o w n s a n d v i l l a g e s i n t h e B r a z i l i a n b a c k l a n d , i t i s s t i l l c o m m o n f o r b o y s t os t u d y i n t h e s t a t e c a p i ta l , w h e r e t h e r e a r e m o r e e d u c a t i o n a l f a c i l i ti e s , a n d f o r g i rl s t os t a y a t h o m e a w a i t i n g t h e i r t u r n t o g e t m a r r i e d . C e r t a i n l y t h i s p r a c t i c e i s t h e p r o d u c to f a so c i al c o n t e x t in w h i c h m e n h a v e a p r i v il e g e d s t at us . E d u c a t e d w o m e n a r e m o r es u c c e s s f u l i n s t r u g g l i n g f o r t h e i r r i g h t s t h a n i l l i t e r a t e w o m e n o r w o m e n w i t h a l o wl e v e l o f s c h o o l i n g .

3 . P r e s u p p o s i t i o n s , c o m m o n s e n s e a n d u n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a t io n sT e x t s p r o d u c e d b y w o m e n a n d a b o u t w o m e n a r e o f t e n b a s e d o n a s s u m p t i o n sd e r i v e d f r o m g e n d e r r e la t i o n s d o m i n a t e d b y m e n . S u c h a s s u m p t i o n s c a n b e s e e n l in -

g u i s t i c a l l y a s p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a n d m o r e g e n e r a l l y a s c o m m o n s e n s e .I c o n s i d e r p r e s u p p o s i ti o n s i n p r a g m a t i c t e rm s . A p r a g m a t i c d e f i n i ti o n o f p r e su p -

p o s i t i o n i n v o l v e s t h e n o t i o n o f c o m m o n g r o u n d . P r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a r e " a s s u m p t i o n st h e s p e a k e r m a k e s a b o u t w h a t t h e h e a r e r i s l i k e l y t o a c c e p t w i t h o u t c h a l l e n g e "( G i v 6 n , 1 9 7 9 : 5 0 ) ; o r " w h a t i s t a k e n b y t h e s p e a k e r t o b e th e c o m m o n g r o u n d o f th ep a r t ic i p a n t s in th e c o n v e r s a t i o n " ( S t a ln a k e r , 1 9 7 8 : 3 2 1 ) .

D u c r o t ( 1 9 8 7 ) d i s t i n g u i s h e s p r e s u p p o s i t i o n f r o m w h a t h e c a l l s sous-entendu.W h i l e p r e s u p p o s i t io n c a n b e s h o w n t o h a v e l i n g u is t ic t r a c e s , w h i c h h a v e t o b e i n t e r-

The notion 'ways of speaking' was introduced by the Am erican sociolinguist Hym es (1974).

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p r e t e d i n o r d e r t o m a k e s e n s e o f w h a t i s s a i d , t h e s o u s - e n t e n d u i s a n o n - l i t e r a l o ri n d i r e c t s p e e c h a c t w h i c h c a n b e a d d e d t o th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e l it e ra l s p e e c h a c t .

L i k e D u c r o t , L e v i n s o n v i e w s p r e su p p o s i t io n s a s b e i n g p r ed i c te d " f r o m t hes e m a n t i c c o n t e n t o f p r e s u p p o s i t i o n - t r i g g e r s " , b u t a d d s th a t s u c h a p r e d i c t i o n i sd e r i v e d ' ' b y m e a n s o f g e n e r a l p r a g m a t i c p r i n c i p l e s " ( 1 9 8 3 : 2 1 6 ) . H o w e v e r , L e v i n -s o n d o e s n o t s p e c if y w h a t k i n d o f p r a g m a t i c p r i n c i p l es w o u l d d e f i n e p r e s u p p o s i -t i o n s; h e re f e rs t o th e n e e d f o r a th e o r y t h a t w o u l d p r e d i c t p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s " f r o m t h es e m a n t i c s p e c i f i c a t io n o f l i n gu i s ti c e x p r e s s i o n s " - u l t i m a t e l y r e s u lt i n g f r o m " c o m -p l e x in t e r a c ti o n s b e t w e e n s e m a n t i c s a n d p r a g m a t i c s " ( 1 9 8 3 : 2 2 5 ) . T h u s , f o r t h e p u r -p o s e o f t h is w o r k , I w i ll c o n s i d e r t h a t p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s c a n b e p r e d i c t e d f r o m t h es e m a n t i c c o n t e n t o f l i n g u i s t ic e x p r e s s i o n s , b u t w i l l tr e a t o t h e r c a s e s o f i m p l i c i t u t te r -a n c e s ( s o u s - e n t e n d u o r c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s ) a s re l a t e d t o t h e m .

A n e x a m p l e f r o m a t e x t p u b l i s h e d i n J o r n a l d o B r a s i l , a l e a d i n g n a t i o n a l n e w s -p a p e r , i n M a y 1 9 8 8, a s p ar t o f t h e c e l e b ra t i o n o f th e c e n t e n a r y o f t h e a b o l i ti o n o fs l a v e ry , w i l l s h o w b o t h p r e s u p p o s i t i o n a n d s o u s - e n t e n d u .( 1 ) " P r o d u t o b r a s i l e ir o d e e x p o rt a q ~ o , c a n t a d a e l o u v a d a p o r a u to r e s c o m o G i l b e r to F r e y r e

o u J o r g e A m a d o , a m u l a t a p a r e c e s e r o m o m e n t o e m q u e o b r a n c o n ~ o f i c a b r a n c o , n e r oo neg ro f i ca neg ro . E la 6 a sa lvaq~o e o ~ i libi ma is pe r fe i to da dem ocra c ia rac ia l , a l6m dese r a g rande sedu to ra , s e rv indo pa ra o s de l f r io s do le i to , enquan to a neg ra pu ra va i pa ra ob a t e n t e e a s b r a n c a s s e r v e m p a r a c a s a r . "[ A B r a z i li a n e x p o r t p r o d u c t , s u n g a n d p r a i s e d b y a u t h o r s s u c h a s G i l b e r t o F r e y r e o r J o r g eA m a d o , t h e m u l a t t o w o m a n s e e m s t o b e t h e p o i n t i n w h i c h t h e W h i t e d o e s n o t s t a y w h i t eno r the Blac k s tays b lack . She i s the sa lva t ion and the m os t pe r fec t a l ib i o f r ac ia l dem oc-racy , bes ides be ing the g rea t seduc t re s s , s e rv ing the rap tu re s o f the bed , wh i le the non -m i x e d b l a c k w o m a n s e rv e s t o d o h a rd w o r k a n d w h i t e w o m e n s e rv e f o r m a r r y i n g. ]

T h e i n i t i a l p h r a s e P r o d u t o b r a s i l e i r o d e e x p o r t a q d o ( A B r a z i l i a n e x p o r t p r o d u c t )p r e s e n t s a n im p l i c i t m e a n i n g : a t y p e o f w o m a n , t h e m u l a t t o , i s c o n s i d e r e d a n o b j e c tf o r sa l e. T h e s e c o n d s e n t e n c e c o n t a i n s t h e p r e s u p p o s i t i o n ( a ) a n d t h e i m p l i c i t u t t e r-a n c e s ( b ) , ( c ) , ( d ) , ( e ) , ( f ) , ( g ) :( a ) t h e r e i s r a c i a l d e m o c r a c y i n B r a z i l ;( b ) t h e r e is a t y p e o f w o m a n w h o is a g r e a t s e d u c e r ;( c) t h e r e ar e t h r ee t y p e s o f w o m e n i n B r a z i l : t h e m u l a t t o w o m a n s e r v e s f o r s e x ; t h e

b l a c k w o m a n s e rv e s to w o r k h a rd ; a n d w h it e w o m e n s e r v e f o r m a r r y i n g ;( d) r a c ia l d e m o c r a c y n e e d s s a l v a ti o n ;( e) r a c ia l d e m o c r a c y n e e d s a li b is ;( f) a ll w o m e n a r e u s e d in B r a z i l , n o m a t t e r w h a t th e i r c o l o r ;( g) a ll w o m e n a r e u s e d b y m e n )

T h e u s e o f th e v e r b s e r v e i n d i c a t e s t h a t w o m e n a r e s e e n a s o b j e c t s , c l a s s i f i e da c c o r d i n g t o t y p e s : s u c h t y p e s c a n b e s e e n a s d i f fe r e n t f r a m e s f o r w o m e n . F r a m e sa r e m e n t a l r e p r e s e n t a t io n s o f a n i m a t e b e i n g s , i n a n i m a t e o b j e c t s , p r o c e s s e s o ra b s t r a ct c o n c e p t s ( S c h a n k a n d A b e l s o n , 1 9 77 ). T h u s , t h e J o r n a l d o B r a s i l t e x t c l a s -

2 For (d)-(g) I would like to thank the Journal o f Pragmatics referees w ho comm ented on this paper.

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186 M.I .S . Magalhcies / Journal o f Prag ma t ics 23 (1995) 1 83-1 97s i f i e s w o m e n a c c o r d i n g t o w h a t t h e y s e r v e f o r , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t a l l w o m e n a r e u s e d( b y m e n ) . I n t h e c a s e o f m u l a t t o w o m e n , t h e y a r e n o t o n l y t r e a t e d a s se x o b j e c t s, b u ta l so a s p r o f i ta b l e o n e s , s i nc e t h e y c a n b e e x c h a n g e d f o r m o n e y a b r o a d .

P r e s u p p o s i t i o n s d o n o t b e l o n g t o t e x t s , b u t t o o n e ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f i n t e r t e x t u a lcon tex t , v iew ed in the h i s to r i ca l re la t ions am on g tex t s (Fa i rc loug h , 1989 : 152) . Inu n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a t i o n s , s u c h a s t h o s e b e t w e e n t h e s e x e s , p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s c a n b ec o n s i d e r e d t o h a v e i d e o l o g i c a l f u n c t i o n s . I n t h e s e r e l a ti o n s , t h e m o r e p o w e r f u l a c t o r so f t e n i m p o s e t h e i r o w n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f f ac t s o n t h e l e ss p o w e r f u l o n e s , t h u s d e t e r -m i n i n g p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s .

T h e n o t i o n o f ' c o m m o n g r o u n d ' i n v o k e d i n t h e d e f in i t i o n s a b o v e i s re l a te d t o' c o m m o n s e n s e ' , a te r m u s e d b y t h e A m e r i c a n s o c i o l o g i st G a r f i n k e l (1 9 6 7 ), w h ow r i te s o f t h e ' f a m i l i a r c o m m o n s e n s e w o r l d o f e v e r y d a y l if e ' . T h i s c o m m o n s e n s ew o r l d i s b a s e d o n t h e a s su m p t i o n s a n d e x p e c t a t io n s o f th e m e m b e r s o f a s o c i e ty .S u c h a s s u m p t i o n s a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s g u i d e t h e s e m e m b e r s ' a c t i o n s a n d t h e i r i n t e r p r e -t a t i o n o f t h e a c t io n s o f o t h e r s. A s t h e s e a s s u m p t i o n s a n d e x p e c t a t i o n s a r e i m p l i c i ta n d t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d , t h e y p l a y a c r u c i a l r o l e i n t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a n d e x p l a n a t i o no f d is c o u r s e . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e B r i t i s h li n g u i s t F a i r c l o u g h , " t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f id e -o l o g y d e p e n d s t o a c o n s i d e r a b l e d e g r e e o n i t b e i n g m e r g e d w i t h t h i s c o m m o n s e n s eb a c k g r o u n d t o d i sc o u r s e a n d o t h e r fo r m s o f s o ci a l a c t i o n " ( 1 9 8 9: 7 7 ).

T h e r e l a t io n b e t w e e n c o m m o n s e n s e a n d i d e o l o g y is o f p r i m a r y c o n c e r n t o th ea n a l y s is o f u n e q u a l p o w e r r e la t io n s . A l t h o u g h n o t a l l c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s a r ei d e o l o g i c a l , i d e o l o g y p l a y s a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t i n r e p r o d u c i n g u n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a ti o n s .

T h o m p s o n ( 1 9 8 4 ) , i n a w e l l - k n o w n s t u d y o f i d e o l o g y , t a k e s i d e o l o g y t o b e a ni m p o r t a n t f a c t o r in t h e s o c ia l c o n s t ru c t i o n o f m e a n i n g . T h o m p s o n p r o p o s e s t o s t u d yi d e o l o g y i n l a n g u a g e , s h o w i n g t h r e e w a y s b y w h i c h i d e o l o g y o p e r a te s : f i rs t , i d e o l -o g y s u s t a i n s u n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a t i o n s t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e y a r e p r e s e n t e d a s l e g i t i -m a t e . S e c o n d , i d e o l o g y o p e r a te s t h r o u g h d i s s im u l a t i o n , d e n y i n g o r c o n c e a l i n g p o w e rr e l a ti o n s . T h i r d , i d e o l o g y o p e r a t e s b y r e i f i c a t io n , r e p r e s e n t i n g a t r a n s i t o r y o r h i s t o r -i ca l s ta t e a s i f i t we re pe r m an en t o r na tu ra l (1984 : 130) .

A c c o r d i n g t o T h o m p s o n , l a n g u a g e p r o v i d e s i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h a c l a ss i f ic a t io n s y s -t e m i m p o s i n g o r d e r o n t h e w o r l d , a n d f a c i l i ta t i n g t h e i n d i v i d u a l s ' c o n t r o l o v e r e x p e -r i e n c e a n d s o c i e t y ' s c o n t r o l o v e r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f r e a l it y . B u t d i f f e r e n t s o c i a lg r o u p s p o s s e s s d i f f e r e n t c l a s s i f i c a t io n s y s t e m s w h i c h w i l l g e t s t ra i n e d w i t h c o n f l i c t so f i n t e r e st i n t h e c o u r s e o f i n t e r a c ti o n ( 1 9 8 4 : 1 21 ). I n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f re a l i t y ,t h e r e f o r e , l a n g u a g e i s a m e a n s o f s u s t a i n i n g u n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a t i o n s .

T h e d i s c o u r s e p r o c e s s r e v e a l s p o w e r r e l a t i o n s e n g e n d e r e d b y t h e s o c i a l p r o c e s s .W o r d s a n d u t t e r a n c e s g a i n m e a n i n g w h i c h i s b a s i c a l l y h e t e r o g e n e o u s , a n d t e x t sb e c o m e r e l e v a n t i n d i s c o u r s e a s a r e s u l t o f a h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s . F o r T h o m p s o n , t h em e a n i n g o f a w o r d o r u t t e r a n c e i s a n i n d e t e r m i n a t e p h e n o m e n o n w h i c h i s o f t e ns t r u c t u r e d i n r h e t o r i c a l f ig u r e s , b e i n g s u s c e p t i b l e t o c h a n g e . T h e r e f o r e , m e a n i n g c a nb e m o b i l i z e d , s u s t a i n i n g u n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a t i o n s a s i t l e g i t i m a t e s , d i s s i m u l a t e s ,and /o r re i f i e s a s t a te o f a f fa i r s .

A f i n a l p o i n t I w a n t t o m a k e i s t h a t i t i s t h e i n t e r p r e t e r o r r e a d e r w h o a c t i v a t e sm e a n i n g i n t h e p r o c e s s o f i n te r p r e t a t io n , s i n c e i m p l i c i t m e a n i n g i s n o t a s s e r te d i n t h et e xt . O n e w a y i n w h i c h a s s u m p t i o n s c a n b e i m p o s e d o n i n t er p r e te r s i s b y p r o v i d i n g

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t e x t u a l c u e s w h i c h p l a c e i n t e r p r e t e r s i n s u c h a p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e y h a v e t o c o n s i d e rt h o s e a s s u m p t i o n s i n o r d e r to m a k e s e n s e o f t h e te x t .

I n t h e n e x t s e c t i o n , g e n d e r r e l a t i o n s i n B r a z i l w i l l b e a n a l y z e d a s u n e q u a l p o w e rr e l a t i o n s ; t h i s w i l l b e d o n e b y f o c u s i n g o n p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a n d c o m m o n s e n s ea s s u m p t i o n s i n t h r e e d i f f e r e n t te x t s .

4 . G e n d e r r e l a t io n s i n te x t a n d d i s c o u r s e

T h e t e rm text w i l l b e u s e d i n t h is p a p e r i n th e s e n s e o f a s e m a n t i c u n i t , t h e p r o d u c to f a d i s c o u r s e p r o c e s s ( H a l l i d a y a n d H a s a n , 1 9 8 5 ). T h e t e r m discourse w i l l b e a p p l i e dt o t h e p r o c e s s o f p r o d u c t i o n a n d t h e p r o c e s s o f i n t e r p r e ta t i o n . T h e l i n g u is t ic f e a t u r e so f a t e x t a r e t races w h i c h s h o w t h e d i sc o u r s e p r o c e s s o f p r o d u c t io n , a n d cues i n t hed i s c o u r s e p r o c e s s o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . B o t h p r o c e s s e s a r e r e l a t e d t o i n t e r p r e t i v er e s o u r c e s i n t h e h u m a n m i n d w h i c h a r e d r a w n u p o n b y t e x t p r o d u c e r s a n d i n t e r -p r e t e r s / r e a d e r s - Mem b er s ' R es o u r ce s - w h i c h i n c l u d e l i n g u i s t i c k n o w l e d g e , r e p r e -s e n t a t io n s o f t h e w o r l d , v a l u e s , b e l i e fs , a n d a s s u m p t i o n s ( F a i r c l o u g h , 1 9 8 9 : 2 4 ) .

T h r e e t e x t s w i l l b e a n a l y z e d i n t h i s s e c t i o n . T h e f i r s t i s f r o m t h e c o m i c s t r i p Tinab y t h e B r a z i l i a n c o m i c s w r i t e r M a u r i c i o d e S o u s a . T h e s e c o n d i s f r o m a b o o k a b o u tt h e f o r m e r M i n i s t e r o f F i n a n c e , Z 6 1ia C a r d o s o d e M e l l o , Zel ia , uma pa ix6o ( 'Z61ia ,a p a s s i o n ' ) , w r i t t e n b y F e r n a n d o S a b i n o a n d p u b l i s h e d i n 1 9 9 1 , s o o n a f t e r h e r d i s -

~I I IMI l l l ~~TOIt

F i g . 1 . " S h e d o e s n ' t p le a s e h i m i n a n y t h i n g . " F r a m e s 5 , 9 , 1 4 , 2 6 . ( P e r m i s s io n to r e p r o d u c e t h e sef r a m e s i s g r a t e f u l l y a c k n o w l e d g e d t o M a u r f c i o d e So u s a ' s P r o d u c t i o n s , S~o Pa u l o , B r a z i l . )

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m i s s a l f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n t . T h e t h ir d is a w o m a n ' s p r o p o s a l f o r th e B r a z i li a n C o n -s t it u ti o n o f 1 9 8 8, s e l e c t e d f r o m a corpus o f 2 8 4 w o m e n ' s t e x t s w h i c h 1 i n v e s t ig a t e da s p a r t o f t h e d a t a r e s e a r c h o n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n ( M a g a l h f ie s , 1 9 9 1) .

T h e m e t h o d o l o g y w h i c h w a s a d o p t e d i n t h e a n a l y s i s c a n b e s u m m a r i z e d i n F a i r -c l o u g h ' s d i m e n s i o n s f o r C r it ic a l D i s c o u r s e A n a l y s i s :(a) Description - i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e l i n g u i s t i c t r a c e s o f t h e t e x t s ;(b ) Interpretation - i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f th e t e x t s a s i n t e r a c t io n s , t h a t is a s p r o d u c t s o f a

p r o c e s s o f p r o d u c t i o n a n d a s r e s o u r c e s i n a p r o c e s s o f i n t e rp r e t a t io n ;(c) Explanation - i n v e s t i g a t io n o f th e r e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n i n t e r a c ti o n a n d t h e

s o c i o h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t , a n d t h e m e a n i n g e f f e c t s r e su l t i n g f r o m s u c h a re l a t io n -s h i p ( 1 9 8 9 : 2 6 ) .

T h e s e d i m e n s i o n s a r e p r e s e n t e d s e p a r a t e l y m e r e l y b e c a u s e t h e y a r e s e e n a s a n a -l y t ic p r o c e d u r e s . H o w e v e r , I c o n s i d e r t h e m s o c l o s e l y c o n n e c t e d t h a t I c a n n o t c o n -c e i v e o f d e s c r i p t i o n w i t h o u t i n t e rp r e t i v e , e x p l a n a t o r y a n a l y s i s .4.1. "She doe sn't please him in any thi ng"

A n a n a l y s i s o f p r e s u p p o s i t io n a n d c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s i n T i n a ' s s t o ry( S o u s a, 1 9 92 : 3 - 1 5 ) s h o w s a h u m o r o u s p o r t r a y a l o f a B r a z i li a n m a n w h o i se x t r e m e l y a u t h o r i t a r i a n i n h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h w o m e n , a t t e m p t i n g t o c o n t r o l e v e r y -t h i n g t h e y d o . W h a t s t ri k e s m e m o s t in th i s t e x t, h o w e v e r , i s n o t m e n ' s p o w e r in dis-course, a n d t h e f a c t th a t it c a n b e q u e s t i o n e d - a n d T i n a d o e s q u e s t i o n i t a t t h e e n d- b u t t h e p r e s u p p o s e d a n d n a t u r a l i z e d s p e e c h a c ts behind the discourse, w h i c h c a nb e i n t e r p r e t e d f r o m t h e f a c t t h a t a l t h o u g h T i n a ' s f r i e n d s l i k e h e r l i b e r a t e d l o o k , t h et e x t l e a v e s i t o p e n t o i n t e rp r e t a t io n w h e t h e r a n y o f h e r m a l e a d m i r e r s w o u l d a c c e p th e r a s a w i fe . I f o n e j u d g e s f r o m t h e Jornal do Brasil t e x t ( a b o v e , s e c t i o n 3 ) , T i n a ' sl i b e r a te d w h i t e b e h a v i o r a n d a t ti t u d e s, l i k e t h e m u l a t t o w o m a n ' s , w o u l d b e a s s o c i -a t e d w i t h s e x b u t n o t w i t h a m a r i t a l r e l a t i o n s h i p .

T h e f o l l o w i n g p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a n d c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s c a n b e a n a l y z e d i nt h e t e x t :Frame 4" T i n a ! O q u e f oi q u e v o c ~ f e z c o m o s e u c a b e l o ? " ( T i n a ! W h a t h a v e y o u d o n e toy o u r h a i r ? )

T h e v e r b fo r m f ez p r e s u p p o s e s t h a t t h e r e i s s o m e t h i n g w r o n g w i t h T i n a ' s h a i r .Frame 5" E u n a o s a io c o r n v o c ~ d e s s e j e i to ! " ( I ' m n o t g o i n g o u t w i th y o u l ik e t hi s ! )

T h e b o l d - f a c e t y p e s a n d t h e d e i c t i c f o r m desse - w h i c h r e l a t e s t h i s s p e e c h a c t t ot h e i m m e d i a t e i n t e r a c t i o n s i t u a t i o n - a s s u m e t h a t w o m e n s h o u l d d r e s s i n a c e r t a i nw a y t h a t c a n b e d e s c r i b e d a s n o t c a l l i n g t o o m u c h a t t e n t i o n t o t h e m s e l v e s a n d w h i c hc a n b e s e e n a s c o n s e r v a t i v e , i f w e l o o k a t f r a m e 2 6 , w h e r e T i n a i s w e a r i n g t h e d r e s ss e l e c t e d b y Rubinho. 33 Rubinho s the dim inutive form o f Rube ns, which can be interpreted as hum orous in op position to thecharacter's behavior.

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F r a m e 6T i n a : " V - V o c ~ a c h a f e io , m e s m o ? " ( D - D ' y o u r e a ll y t h in k i t ' s u g l y ? )R u b i n h o : " U r n l i x o ! T r a te d e d e s f r i s a r ! " ( A m e s s ! G o a n d u n c u r l i t! )

R u b i n h o ' s s p e e c h a c t a s s u m e s t h a t w o m e n ' s h a i r c a n b e c o m p a r e d t o w a s t ew h e n i t d o e s n o t m a t c h ( m e n ' s ) e x p e c t a t i o n o f a c c e p t a b l e b e h a v io r . T r a t e d e d e s -f r i s a r a s s u m e s t h a t w o m e n a r e s u b o r d i n a t e , f o r R u b i n h o o r d e r s T i n a t o g o a n du n c u r l h e r h a i r .F r a m e 9" A m i n h a T in a de s e m p r e ! " ( M y T i n a a s e v e r ! )

R u b i n h o ' s s p e e c h p r e s u p p o s e s h i s f o r m e r a n d c u r r e n t p o w e r o v e r T i n a w h i c h i se x p l i c i t in t h e d e f i n i t e a r ti c l e a a n d p o s s e s s i v e f o r m m i n h a a n d i n t h e a d v e r b sernpre .T h e v i s u a l e l e m e n t s o f th e t e x t a d d t o th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e l i n g u i s ti c t r a c e s , a sT i n a l o o k s u n h a p p y , w h i l e R u b i n h o i s p l e a s e d f o r a m o m e n t .F r a m e 1 1" Q u e b a t o m 6 e s s e ? " ( W h a t k i n d o f l ip s ti ck is t h i s? )

T h e d e i c t i c f o r m e s s e r e f e r s t o t h e i m m e d i a t e i n t e r a c t i o n c o n t e x t , i n w h i c h t h ec o l o r o f li p s ti c k w h i c h T i n a i s w e a r in g is c o n s i d e r e d t o b e i n a d e q u a t e f o r a w o m a n ' sb e h a v i o r ; i t i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e r e a r e o t h e r c o l o r s w h i c h a r e m o r e a d e q u a t e . T h eu s e o f t h e s i m p l e p r e s e n t t e n s e g r e i n f o r c e s th e i d e a o f i n a d e q u a c y w i t h i ts m e a n i n go f p e r m a n e n t s t a te ( C u n h a a n d C i n tr a , 1 9 8 5) .F r a m e 1 2T i n a : " A h ! I~ u r e a t o n a li d a d e n o v a ! G o s t o u ? " ( O h ! I t ' s a n e w c o l o r ! D o y o ul i k e i t ? )R u b i n h o : " D e j e it o n e n h u m ! F a z s ua b o ca p ar e c er e n o r m e ! " ( N o w a y ! I t m a k e sy o u r m o u t h l o o k h u g e ! )F r a m e 1 3R u b i n h o : " P r a d i z e r a v e r d a d e , f a z v o c ~ p a r e c e r u m a v a m p i r a ! " ( T o t e l l t h e t r u t h ,i t m a k e s y o u l o o k l i k e a v a m p i r e ! )T in a: " N o s s a ! " ( G o o d n e s s! )

I t is a s s u m e d t h a t r e d l ip s t ic k i s s e n s u o u s a n d t h e r e f o r e e v il , m a k i n g a w o m a n ' sm o u t h e n o r m o u s a n d s e d u c t i v e . R u b i n h o ' s s p e e c h a l s o n a t u r a l i z e s t h e u n d e r l y i n ga s s u m p t i o n t h a t a w o m a n s h o u l d b e q u i e t a n d s h o u l d n o t c a l l a t t e n t i o n t o h e r s e l fw i t h b r i l l i an t co l o r s .F r a m e 1 4T i n a : " E n t ~ o , v o u t i r a r ! " ( T h e n , I ' m g o i n g to t a k e it o f f ! )R u b i n h o : " A p r o v e i t a e ti ra o r e st o d a m a q u i a g e m , t a m b 6 m ! T~i e x a g e r a d a ! " ( W h i l ey o u ' r e a t it, ta k e t h e r es t o f t h e m a k e - u p o f f ! I t ' s t o o h e a v y ! )

R u b i n h o ' s c o m m o n s e n s e d i s a p p r o v a l o f T i n a ' s m a k e - u p i s m a d e s tr o n g e r n o n -v e r b a l l y b y t h e u p w a r d m o v e m e n t o f h is h a n d . I n a d d i ti o n , i n f r a m e 1 4 (a l so i n 1 6,1 8 a n d 1 9 ) , R u b i n h o s o u n d s a u t h o r i t a r i a n , u s i n g u n m i t i g a t e d d i r e c t i v e s a n d e v a l u a -t io n s , a n d s h o w i n g n o c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r T i n a ' s s p e a k e r r ig h t s.

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190 M.1.S. Magalhftes /Journal of Pragmatics 23 (1995) 183-197Frame 15T i n a: " E a g o r a? P o d e m o s i r ? " ( A n d n o w ? C a n w e g o ? )R u b i n h o : " I R R C ! " ( v o c a l i z e s h i s i rr it at io n )Frame 16R u b i n h o : " N u n c a ! C o m e s s e v e s t i d o r i d f c u l o ? " ( N e v e r ! W i t h t h is r i d ic u l o u s d r e s s ? )

Nunca s u g g e s t s a n a r g u i n g s p a c e i n w h i c h R u b i n h o h a s t h e a u t h o r i t y t o r e fu s e t og o o u t w i t h T i n a i f s h e d o e s n o t c h a n g e h e r ridiculous dress.Frame 18R u b i n h o : " V a i p o r m i m , T i n a ! " ( T a k e m y a d v ic e , T i n a ! )Frame 19R u b i n h o : " N f i o f i ca b e m e m v o c ~ ! 1~ m e l h o r t r o c a r ! " ( It d o e s n ' t s u it y o u ! Y o u ' db e t t e r c h a n g e i t ! )

R u b i n h o f e e l s h e i s i n a p o s i t i o n t o t e l l T i n a w h a t i s b e s t f o r h e r , a s s u m i n g t h a tw o m e n c a n n o t h a v e t h e i r o w n o p i n i o n a n d , i n a d d i t io n t o th a t, h e t u rn s a q u e s t i o n o fh i s p e r s o n a l p r e f e r e n c e i n t o a q u e s t i o n o f h e r p h y s i c a l i n a d e q u a c y . S u c h a r e p r e s e n -t a t io n o f w o m e n i s m o r e d e v e l o p e d i n f r a m e 2 2 , i n w h i c h R u b i n h o n o t e s th a t h e h a db e t t e r h e l p T i n a c h o o s e a d r e s s , i n w h i c h t h e v e r b f o r m ajudar ( h e l p ) p r e s u p p o s e st h a t w o m e n a r e i n c a p a b l e a n d n e e d h e l p .

S u ~ i r e z ( 1 9 9 2 ) , a s o c i o l o g i s t a n d f e m i n i s t w h o h a s i n v e s t i g a t e d r a c e a n d g e n d e r ,o b s e r v e s t h a t, i n r u r a l ar e as o f B r a z i l, w o m e n w h o w o r k o u t s i d e t h e i r h o m e s a r ed e f i n e d a s h e l p i n g t h e m e n , n o t a s , l a b o r e r s . H e r e , a s i n T i n a ' s s t o ry , w h a t e v e rw o m e n d o h a s t o b e c o m p l e m e n t e d a n d / o r s u p e r v i s e d b y m e n .Frame 25T i n a : " R u b i n h o ! M a s j u s t o e s t e ? " ( O h R u b i n h o ! B u t w h y t hi s o n e in p a r t ic u l a r ? )R u b i n h o : " P r a m e a g r a d a r ! " ( T o p l ea s e m e ! )

R u b i n h o a s s u m e s t h a t T i n a w i l l h a v e t o w e a r a d r e s s w h i c h s h e d o e s n o t l i k e o n l yt o p l e a s e h i m . B u t t h e r e a r e s t i l l t h e e a r r i n g s t o c h a n g e .Frame 28" E s s e b r i n c a o e s q u i s i t o ! N ~ o t~i m a i s c o m b i n a n d o c o m n a d a ! I~ m e l h o r v o c ~ t ro -c a r ! " ( A n d t h e se b i g w e i r d e a r ri n g s ! T h e y d o n ' t m a t c h a n y t h i n g ! Y o u ' d b e t t erc h a n g e t h e m !) .

T h e u t t e r a n c e w h i c h m a k e s T i n a c h a n g e h e r m i n d a n d p u t o n t h e m i n i - d r e s s a g a i np r e s u p p o s e s t h a t h e r b o y f r i e n d d o e s n o t l i k e h e r e a r r in g s . T h i s e v a l u a t i v e m e a n i n g i sm a r k e d b y t h e a u g m e n t a t i v e s u f f i x do in brincdo a n d t h e a d j e c t i v e esquisito.

T h e a n a ly s i s o f p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a n d c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s i n t h e te x t a b o u tT i n a s u g g e s ts h e t e r o g e n e i t y i n d i s c o u rs e a b o u t w o m e n w i t h t w o m a i n forms of coex-istence: 4 t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l a n d t h e d i s c o u r s e o f l i b e ra t i o n . T h e d i s c o u r s e o f4 The term orms of coexistenceis used b y the F rench philosopher Fou cault as p art of the organizationof a discourse field (cf. Foucault, 1969).

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control is noted in the criticisms uttered by Tina's boyfriend and her quiet accep-tance of them (see Fig. 2).

O penteado est~ium l ixo. (Your hairdo looks a mess.)O batom az voc~ parecer uma vampira . (Your lipstick makes you look like a vampire.)A maquiagem 6 exagerada. (Your make-up is too heavy.)0 rnini-vestido 6 ridiculo. (Your mini-dress is ridiculous.)Esse brincro 6 esquis i to. (These big earrings are weird.)V a i p o r m i m . (Take my advice.)O vestidon~ of ic a bern em vocY! E melho r t rocar ! (This dress doesn't suit you! You'd better change it.)Acho melhor eu a judar a esco lher . (l'd better help you choose.)Use este vestidopra me agradar . (Wear this dress to please me.)

Fig. 2. The language of men's criticism of women.

The discourse of women's control, which is of historical relevance in the socialformation of Brazilian families, can be noted both on the surface and behind muchof what is said and written about women in Brazil (Ararj o, 1993: 190). Consideringwomen incapable of looking after themselves and of having their own opinion, andtreating them as n o n - s u b j e c t s 5 are aspects of the ideology of women's incapabilityand frailty which appears in the text and in the commonsense assumptions of goodbehavior which is expected from women.

The discourse of liberation, which is recent in Brazilian history, being associatedwith urban life, can be shown in Tina's speech at the end of the text. In frames 34and 35, Rubinho refuses to go out with Tina by uttering a threat: "J~i falei que, dessejeito, eu nao saio com voc6!" (I've already told you that I won't go out with youdressed like this!). But her reply shows no fear of his dominating discourse: sheanswers "Otimo!" (Fine!), turns her back and challenges him: "Entao eu vou so-zinha! Tchau!" (Then I'm going by myself! Bye!). By refusing Rubinho's domi-nating discourse, Tina builds a social position for herself. Thus, the discourse ofliberation contributes to the construction of women as subjects, creating new formsof meaning to replace other forms, or what Orlandi (1990:130) refers to as f o u n d -i n g d i s c o u r s e .4 . 2 . Z ~ l i a , a p a s s i o n

The text to be analysed in this section is from a book by the Brazilian writer Fer-nando Sabino - Z d l i a , u m a p a i x d o (Zrlia, a passion). 6 This text was selectedbecause, by telling the story of a love affair between a strong woman, Z. de Mello,who reached a top political post - Minister of Finance - and a well-known politicianin Brazil and a married man, B. Cabral, it reveals clearly the two types of discourse

5 According to the Brazilian discourse analyst Orlandi (1990: 52), subjects can be 'suffocated' by adevice of silencing, a process in which they are restrained from occupyingcertain social positions. Suchis the case of non-subjects.6 Source:Sabino (1991: 179-181).

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w h i c h w e r e d i s c u s s e d i n s e c ti o n 4 .1 , v i z ., t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l a n d t h e d i s c o u r s eo f li b e ra t io n . T h e s u b ti tl e o f t h e b o o k r e fe r s t o Z . d e M e l l o a s ' t h e m o s t r e m a r k a b l ec h a r a c t e r ' i n B r a z i l i a n p u b l i c l i f e i n r e c e n t y e a r s . Z . d e M e l l o w a s n o d o u b t a l i b er -a t e d w o m a n i n t h e s e n s e t h at s h e d id n o t d e p e n d o n a m a n . I n fa c t, s h e w a s t h e m o s tp o w e r f u l m i n i s te r i n P r e s id e n t F e m a n d o C o l l o r ' s e a rl y t ea m , p e r s u a d i n g t h o s eB r a z i l i a n s w h o w e r e p r e v e n t e d f r o m u s i n g t h e i r sa v i n g s , in 1 9 9 0 , o f t h e i m p o r t a n c eo f t h ei r s a c r if i c e f o r c o n t r o l li n g i n f l at i o n a n d f r e e i n g t h e c o u n t r y f r o m a s e r io u s e c o -n o m i c c r is is . Y e t Z . d e M e l l o w a s a l s o u n d e r t h e i n f lu e n c e o f t h e c o n s e r v a t i v e t y p eo f d i sc o u r s e w h i c h s u st a i n s c o n t r o l o v e r w o m e n .

A l t h o u g h t h e s t o r y is t o ld b y a m a n , h e i s a g h o s t w r i t e r , a s t h e r e a d e r i s i n f o r m e da t th e e n d o f th e F o r e w o r d ( p. 9 ) :"Flau bert will excuse m e th en, but, fo r the purpose o f this book, it is established that Z61ia MariaCardoso de Mello is myself."

A n a n a l y s is o f p r e su p p o s i t i o n a n d c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s i n th e te x t w il l b ep r e s e n t e d i n w h a t f o l l o w s .(2) " S u a h i s t6 r ia , c o n t a d a d e t o d a s a s f o r m a s , v e r d a d e i r a s o u i n v e n t a d a s , s u a f o t o n o s j o r n a i s

e r e v is t a s e m t o d o s o s ~ n g u l o s - e r a c o m o s e e l a e s t iv e s s e v i v e n d o a c a d a d i a n o v o c a p / -t u l o d e u m a f o t o n o v e l a r o m ~ n t i c a e s e n t i m e n t a l . "[Her s to ry , to ld in a l l fo rms , t rue o r inven ted , he r p ic tu re in newspapers and magaz iness h o t f r o m a l l a n g le s - i t w a s a s i f e a c h d a y s h e w a s l i v i n g a n e w c h a p t e r o f a ro m a n t i ca n d s e n t im e n t a l f o t o n o v e l a (pho to -s to ry ) . ]

I t is p r e s u p p o s e d f r o m t h e u s e o f t h e s u b o r d i n a t i v e c o n n e c t o r c o m o s e ( a s i f ) t h a tZ . d e M e l l o ' s s t o r y w a s r o m a n t i c a n d s e n t im e n t a l . I n f a ct , i n o r d e r t o m i n i m i z e t h ep o l i t i c a l e f f e c t s o f t h e s t o r y a f te r th e p r e s s h a d p u b l i s h e d i t, P r e s i d e n t F e r n a n d oC o l l o r o r d e r e d a n a t io n a l s u r v e y , t h e re s u l t b e i n g 8 0 p e r c e n t o f r e p l ie s i n f a v o r o fB . C a b r a l a n d Z . d e M e l l o ' s l o v e a f f a i r .

T h e r e i s n o t h i n g w r o n g w i t h b e i n g r o m a n t i c , b u t I f i n d t h a t Z . d e M e l l o ' s s t o r y ,w h e n r e p r e s e n t e d a s a r o m a n t i c a n d s e n t im e n t a l f o t o n o v e l a , w h i c h i n B r a z i l i s u s u -a l ly a m o n o s e m i c , p o p u l a r l o v e s t or y , a n d a d d r e s s e d a t a s t e r e o t y p e d r ea d e r , c a n b er e l a te d t o a c o n s e r v a t i v e v i e w o f w o m e n a n d t o t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n tr o l . S u c h a p o r -t r a ya l o f f o r m e r M i n i s t e r Z . d e M e l l o a s a f r ag i le , r o m a n t i c w o m a n w h o c a n b es e d u c e d b y h e r c o l l e a g u e , M i n i s t e r o f J u s t ic e , a m a r r i e d m a n , b e s p e a k s t h e p o w e r o fh e r p o l i ti c a l p o si t io n . O n t h e o n e h a n d , s h e w a s c o n s i d e r e d t o b e a n e w w o m a n w h oh a d t h e c o u r a g e t o i m p o s e o n B r a z i l i a n s a v e r s t h e c o n f i s c a t i o n o f t h e ir s a v i n g s ; b u t ,o n t h e o t h e r , b y p l a y i n g t h e f e m a l e r o l e i n a r o m a n t i c s t o r y t h a t w a s s e e n a s a s e n t i -m e n t a l f o t o n o v e l a , s h e w a s p l a c e d i n t h e o ld , c o n s e r v a t i v e , p a t r i a r c h a l B r a z i l i a n d i s -c o u r s e a b o u t w o m e n .( 3 ) " E l e l h e d is s e ra , n o c o m e q o , q u e e la n a o e r a ' a s u a m u l h e r i n a u g ur a l , m a s s u a es tr Ei a n o s

s e n t i m e n t o s ' . "[ A t t h e b e g i n n i n g , h e h a d t o l d h e r t h a t s h e w a s n o t ' h i s f i r s t w o m a n , b u t h i s d e b u t i nf e e l i n g s ' . ]

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T h e n o u n p h r a s e s mulher inaugural ( f i r s t w o m a n ) a n d estr~ia ( d 6 b u t ) a l s o d e r i v ef r o m t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t ro l i n w h i c h m e n a r e a l l o w e d t o r e l a te to d i f f e r e n t p a r t n e r sb u t w o m e n a r e e x p e c t e d t o b e h a v e a c c o r d i n g t o t he p r i n c i p le o f f id e li ty . T h e u s e o ft h e s e n o u n p h r a s e s i n d i c a t e s t h a t B . C a b r a l a d d r e s s e d Z . d e M e l l o i n t h e o l d , c o n -s e r v a t i v e d i sc o u r s e in w h i c h it i s n a t u r a l f o r m e n t o d e c e i v e w o m e n w i t h e x a g g e r -a t e d l o v e p h r a s e s a n d a c t i o n s , s u c h a s i n g i v i n g Z . d e M e l l o a n alianfa ( e n g a g e m e n tr i n g ) w h i c h s h e w o r e i n p u b l i c corn satisfafgto ( w i t h r e l i s h ) w i t h o u t r e v e a l i n g h e rp a r t n e r ' s i d e n t i t y . Ela ndo era 'a sua mulher inaugural, mas sua estr~ia nos senti-mentos' c a n b e s e e n , t h u s , a s a n a t u r a l i z e d , ideological speech act, t o u s e D e S o u z a ' sn o t i o n ( 1 9 8 3 ) . S u c h a s p e e c h a c t i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d a s e s t a b l i s h i n g a c o m m o n s e n s e ,i m p l i c i t r e l a t i o n o f l a n g u a g e w i t h t h e v a l u e s o f a s o c i e t y o r d o m i n a t i n g g r o u p , h e l p -i n g t h e r e f o r e t o r e p r o d u c e u n e q u a l p o w e r r e l a t i o n s .(4) " In fe l i zm en te e s t a s aida e scapou ao nosso con t ro l e" , Z61 ia l he e sc rev i a agora : " Nf io ad i -anta chorar o lei te derramado. Caberia a n6s retomar as rddeas, corn a t inica at i tude dignado nosso amor : a s sumi r i n t eg ra lmen te" .[ " Unfo r tuna t e ly t h is mov e has e scaped ou r con t ro l " , Zd l ia now w ro te t o h im: " N o po in tcry ing ov er sp i lt mi lk . What we should do now is to regain cont ro l , wi th the only a t t i tudewor thy of our love: to assume i t en t i re ly" . ]

B . C a b r a l h a d a s k e d t h e f o r m e r M i n i s te r t o g ra n t h i m t w o w e e k s t o m a k e u p h ism i n d , l e a v e h i s w i f e a n d m o v e t o Z . d e M e l l o ' s f l a t i n S i l o P a u l o , b u t h e d i d n o t f u l -f i l l h i s p r o m i s e . I n a l e t t e r t o B . C a b r a l , t h e n , Z . d e M e l l o a d m i t s t h a t esta sa[daescapou ao nosso controle ( th i s m o v e h a s e s c a p e d our c o n t r o l ) , i n w h i c h s h e u s e s a ni n c l u si v e p o s s e s s i v e f o r m , e x t e n d i n g t o h e r se l f w h a t e v e n t u a l l y w a s u p t o h i m a l o n et o d e c i d e . B y u s i n g t h i s f o r m , s h e c o u l d b e a t t e m p t i n g t o e s c a p e t h e d i s c o u r s e o fc o n t r o l a n d i n f l u e n c e h i s d e c is i o n . A n o t h e r i n c l u s i v e f o r m , t h e f i rs t p e r s o n p l u r a lp r o n o u n n6s ( w e ) , i s u s e d i n caberia a n6s retomar as rddeas ( w h a t w e s h o u l d d on o w i s t o r e g a i n c o n t r o l ) , r e i t e r a t i n g t h e p e r s u a s i v e l a n g u a g e u s e d b e f o r e a n d c o n -s t r u c ti n g d i s c o u r s e e f f e c t s o n h e r i n t e rl o c u t o r . B e i n g o b j e c t i v e , t h a t is p u r s u i n g a f e a -t u r e o f t h e n e w d i s c o u r s e , Z . d e M e l l o s u g g e s t s t o B . C a b r a l t h a t th e y s h o u l d n o tw o r r y a b o u t w h a t c a n n o t b e u n d o n e , a n d s h e p r o p o s e s t o h i m t o t a k e t h e o n l y a t t i -t u d e digna do nosso amor ( w o r t h y o f o u r l o v e ) , in w h i c h t h e n o u n p h r a s e nossoamor r e i t e r a t e s h e r p e r s u a s i v e i n t e r a c t i v e w o r k o n B . C a b r a l . I n a d d i t i o n , i t s h o u l db e n o t e d t h a t t h i s n o u n p h r a s e p r o v i d e s t h i s t e x t w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r p r e s u p p o s e d i n t e r -t e x t u a l m e a n i n g , r e l a t i n g Z . d e M e l l o ' s s t o r y w i t h o t h e r l o v e s t o r i e s i n d i f f e r e n t d i s -c o u r s e g e n r e s s u c h a s p o e m s , n o v e l s , s o n g s , s o a p o p e r a s . T h e p r o p o s e d a t t i t u d e i sassumir ( t o a s s u m e ) t h e i r l o v e , a v e r b f o r m w h i c h p r e s u p p o s e s o t h e r l o v e r e l a t i o n sw h i c h a r e n o t a s s u m e d i n t h e B r a z i l i a n s o c i a l c o n t e x t , a n d , i n f a c t , s u c h a l i n g u i s t i cf e a t u r e is a c u e t o th e e n d o f t h e s t o ry , in w h i c h B . C a b r a l b e h a v e s w i t h i n w h a t c o u l db e e x p e c t e d f r o m c o n s e r v a t i v e a n d m o r a l is t ic d i s c o u r s e : h e w e n t b a c k t o h i s w i f e,a b a n d o n i n g Z . d e M e l l o .(5) "P o r nfio o terem fei to, sobra ra para o pals inteiro aqu ela ima ge m dos dois: ela, sol teira,

apaixonada; e le , casado, sedutor ."["By not having assumed i t , there remained for the ent i re count ry tha t image of the cou-ple: she, s ingle, in love; he, married, seducer."]

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T h e u s e o f th e n o u n p h r a s e a q u e l a i m a g e m ( th a t i m a g e ) p r e s u p p o s e s t h a t t h ee n t ir e c o u n t r y b e l i e v e d t h a t B . C a b r a l , M i n i s t e r o f J u s ti c e , h a d s e d u c e d Z . d e M e l l o ,M i n i s t e r o f F i n a n c e . S u c h b e h a v i o r , h o w e v e r , e v e n i f n o t e x p e c t e d o f a u t h o ri t ie s ,f a ll s w i t h i n c o m m o n s e n s e , n a t u r a l i z e d n o t i o n s u n d e r p i n n i n g g e n d e r r e l a ti o n s i nB r a z i l .

I n Z . d e M e l l o ' s t ex t , t h e re f o r e , t h e d i s c o u r s e o f l i b e ra t i o n c o e x i s t s w i t h t h e c o n -s e r v a t iv e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l , s h o w i n g t h a t, u n d e r l y i n g n e w w a y s o f sp e a k i n g , t h es o c i a l s t r u c t u r e o f g e n d e r r e l a t i o n s i n B r a z i l i s st il l, t o a g r e a t e x t e n t, k e p t w i t h i n t h eb o u n d a r i e s o f a c o n s e r v a t i v e d i s c o u r s e f o r m a t i o n , 7 w h i c h s u s ta i n s u n e q u a l p o w e rr e l a ti o n s a n d k e e p s w o m e n a s n o n - s u b j e c t s . T h e r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e s e u n e q u a lp o w e r r e l a t io n s i n g e n d e r ta k e s p l a c e in c o m m o n s e n s e , p r e s u p p o s i n g , i d e o l o g i c a ls p e e c h a c t s w h i c h g u i d e t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d i n t e r p re t a t io n o f m e a n i n g i n d i sc o u r s e .

4 .3 . W o m e n ' s c o n s t ru c t io n o f a s o c ia l p l a c eI n t h is s e c t i o n , I s h a ll d i s c u s s b r i e fl y t h e r e l a t io n b e t w e e n l a n g u a g e a n d w o m e n i n

t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a s o c ia l p l a c e b y a n a l y z i n g a t ex t w r i t te n b y a w o m a n a s a s u g -g e s t i o n f o r t h e B r a z i li a n C o n s t i t u t io n o f 1 9 8 8 . T h i s t e x t w a s s e l e c te d f r o m a c o r p u so f 2 8 4 w o m e n ' s s u g g e s t io n s f o r t h e C o n s t i tu t i o n w h i c h I h a v e a n a l y z e d e l s e w h e r e( M a g a l h a e s , 1 9 91 ) . 8

T h e d i s c o u r s e o f l ib e r a ti o n p l a y s a s i g n i f ic a n t p a r t in t he c o n s t r u c t i o n o f w o m e na s c i t i z e n s , a s c a n b e s e e n i n t e x t (6 ) , w r i t t e n b y a w o m a n i n t h e 2 5 - 2 9 a g e g r o u p ,f r o m S ~ o Jo s 6 d o R i o P r e t o , S ~ o P a u l o .(6 ) "A s m u lhe res b ra s i l e ira s , ho je eng a jadas e a tuan te s nas d iscuss~Ses po l f t i ca s e t endo om e r e c i d o r e c o n h e c i m e n t o c o m o t r a b a l h a d o r e s i m p o r t a n t e s e f u n d a m e n t a i s p a r a a n a ~ ov ~ m r e i v i n d i c a r h C o m i s s ~ o d a C o n s t i t u i q ~ o u m a r e f o r m u l a q ~ o e m s u a s j o m a d a s d e t r a -b a l h o d e o i t o p a r a s e i s h o r a s e u m a a p o s e n t a d o r i a c o r n 2 5 a n o s d e s e r v i q o e m c a d e i r ai n d e p en d e n t e d e o n d e t en h a t r a b a l h a d o . " ( C o d e d 6 0 7 2 8 L 0 2 4 5 7 8 i n t h e S A I C d a t a -Serviqo de Apoio Inform at ivo ~ C onst i tu inte / Informat ive Su p p o r t S e r v i c e t o t h e C o n s t i t u -t i o n , o r g a n i z e d b y t h e PR O D A SE N / D a t a P r o c e s s i n g C e n t e r a t t h e B r a z i l i a n Pa r l i a m e n t . )[ " B r a z i l i a n w o m e n , t o d a y e n g a g e d a n d t a k i n g p a r t i n p o l i t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n s a n d d e s e r v i n gf a i r a c k n o w l e d g m e n t a s i m p o r t a n t a n d c r u c i a l w o r k e r s i n t h e s e r v ic e o f t h e n a t i o nd e m a n d f r o m t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n C o m m i t t e e a r e d u c t i o n i n t h e i r w o r k s h i f t f r o m 8 t o 6h o u r s a n d r e t ir e m e n t a f t e r 2 5 y e a r s ' w o r k r e g a rd l e s s o f w h e r e t h e y h a v e w o r k e d . " ]

A l t h o u g h o t h e r t e x ts i n th i s c o r p u s i n d i c a t e t h e c o e x i s t e n c e o f th e d i s c o u r s e o f li b-e r a ti o n , a s e x e m p l i f i e d i n te x t (6 ), w i t h t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l w h i c h h a s b e e n c o n -s i d e r e d i n s e c t io n s 4 . 1 a n d 4 . 2 , I w a n t t o f o c u s o n s o m e f e a t u r e s o f t h e d i s c o u r s e o f7 The notion of discourse formation was developed by Foucault in term s of the set of historical ruleswhich define, in time and space, the conditions of the function of utterances (1969: 153).8 The corpus was selected from the data base SAIC - Serviqo de Apoio InformativoConstituinte/Informative Suppo rt Service to the Constitution (Brazilian Parliament), according to the fol-lowing variables: (a) sex: female; (b) schooling: completed secondary school; (c) income: (c.1) noincome; (c .2) 2-5 minimum wages; (d) age: (d .l) 25 -29; (d.2 ) 30-3 9; (d.3) over 59. The 40-5 9 agegroup had to be left out due to the fact that it is a very large group, which gives rise to practical prob-lems related to the limits of qualitative research.

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M.I.S. Maga lhdes /Journal of Pragmatics 23 (1995) 183-197 195l i b e r a t i o n i n ( 6 ) . T h e s e f e a t u r e s , t w o n o u n p h r a s e s a n d a v e r b p h r a s e , p o i n t t o u n d e r -l y i n g p r e s u p p o s i t io n s w h i c h o p p o s e t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l. T h e n o u n p h r a s e a sm u l h e r e s b r a s i l e i r a s e n g a j a d a s e a t u a n t e s p r e s u p p o s e s t h a t a ll B r a z il i a n w o m e n t a k ep a r t i n p o l i t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n s , w h i c h i s , i n f a c t , n o t t r u e . A c t u a l l y , a s I p o i n t e d o u t i ns e c t i o n 2 , th e r e i s a g r e a t d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e c i ti e s a n d t h e h i n t e r l a n d a n db e t w e e n l i t e r a t e a n d i l l i t e r a t e w o m e n , w i t h s c h o o l i n g p l a y i n g a m a j o r p a r t i n t h i sr e s p e ct . A s t o t h e s e c o n d n o u n p h r a s e , t r a b a l h a d o r es i m p o r t a n t e s e f u n d a m e n t a i s , i tp r e s u p p o s e s t h a t a l l B r a z i l i a n w o m e n h a v e b e e n a c k n o w l e d g e d a s ' i m p o r t a n t a n dc r u c i a l w o r k e r s ' . H o w e v e r , a c c o r d i n g t o S u ~ e z ( 1 9 9 2 ) , t h e t e r m t r a b a l h a d o r a( f e m a l e w o r k e r ) i s n o t u s e d a t a l l i n r u r a l a r e a s o f B r a z i l , t h e v e r b p h r a s e a j u d a oh o m e m ( h e l p s t h e m a n ) b e i n g u s e d i n s te a d . I n a d d i t i o n , t h is t e x t p r e s u p p o s e s t h a t a l lB r a z i l i a n w o m e n d e m a n d , a s i n t h e v e r b p h r a s e v ~ m r e i v i n d i c a r ( d e m a n d ) , w h i c ha g a i n i s n o t t r u e i n r e l a t i o n t o s m a l l t o w n s a n d r u r a l a r e a s .

W h y i s i t t h a t t h is t e x t p r e s u p p o s e s a w o m a n ' s p l a c e i n B r a z i l th a t h a s n o t y e tc o m e t o b e r e a l a s a c o u n t r y w i d e a c h i e v e m e n t ? T h e r e a s o n i s t h a t t h is t e x t, li k e th ep r e v i o u s o n e s t h a t w e r e a n a l y z e d , s h o w s i d e o l o g i c a l u s e s o f l a n g u a g e ; h o w e v e r , t h ed i f f e r e n c e i s t h a t h e r e o n e d o e s n o t f i n d t h e c o n s e r v a t i v e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l.W h i l e t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e t w o p r e v i o u s t e x ts i s c o n s t r u c t e d f r o m t h e t e n s i o nb e t w e e n t h e d i s c o u r s e o f c o n t r o l a n d t h e d i s c o u r s e o f l ib e r a t io n , t h e t h i rd t e x ta d o p ts a s a p e rs u a s i v e m e c h a n i s m t h e a ss u m p t i o n t ha t w o m e n h a v e a c h i e v e d p o l it -i c a l r i g h t s , a n d t h u s a r e e n t i t l e d t o t h e d e m a n d f o r t h e i r r i g h t s t o b e m a d e e x p l i c i t i nt h e C o n s t i t u t i o n .

5 . Conc l u s i o nA u t h i e r - R e v u z ( 1 9 8 4 , 1 9 9 0 : 2 8 ) w r it e s o f h e t e r o g e n e i t y i n t e rm s o f o t h e r u t te r -

a n c e s o r w o r d s w h i c h u n d e r l i e t h e s p e e c h o f a ' d i v i d e d ' , ' s p l i t ' , ' d e c e n t e r e d ' s u b -j e c t. T h e f i r s t r e s u l t d e r i v e d f r o m m y a n a l y s i s is th a t s u c h h e t e r o g e n e i t y g u i d e s p r e -s u p p o s i t i o n s a n d c o m m o n s e n s e a s s u m p t i o n s o f t e x t s a b o u t w o m e n , a s w e l l a s t e x t sp r o d u c e d b y w o m e n , i n B r a z i l. T h u s , b e h i n d t h e d i s c o u r s e o f l ib e r a t io n , o n e r e g i s -t e rs t h e d i sc o u r s e o f c o n t ro l w h i c h d e r i v e s f r o m t h e d o m i n a t i n g g e n d e r o f a b a si -c a l l y p a t r i a r c h a l s o c i e t y , a s a n a l y z e d i n t h e s t o r y a b o u t T i n a ( 4 . 1 ) a n d i n Z . d eM e l l o ' s s t o r y ( 4 . 2 ) . T o m y m i n d , C r i t i c a l D i s c o u r s e A n a l y s i s i s a n e x t r e m e l yi m p o r t a n t a p p r o a c h w h i c h w i l l t h r o w l i g h t o n t h e i n t r i c a t e , h e t e r o g e n e o u s m e a n i n gw h i c h is c o n s t r u c t e d i n th e s e t e x ts . B y a d o p t i n g s u c h a n a p p r o a c h , o n e c a n i n d i c a tel i n g u i s t i c p r o c e s s e s w h i c h a r e d e t e r m i n e d b y g e n d e r i d e o l o g y . A s F o w l e r a n d K r e s sn o t e :" If linguistic mea ning is inseparable from ideology, and bo th depend on social structure, then linguisticanalysis ough t to be a pow erful too l for the study of ideological processes which mediate relationshipsof power and control." (1979: 186)

O t h e r i n v e s t i g a t o r s , s u c h a s P o y n t o n ( 1 9 8 5 ) , K r e s s ( 1 9 8 5 ) , a n d F a i r c l o u g h ( 1 9 8 9 ) ,h a v e s u g g e s t e d t h e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f t h e c r it i c a l v i e w o f l a n g u a g e t o th e a n a l y s i s o fg e n d e r r e l a t i o n s .

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196 M.I.S. Magalh(tes /Journal of Pragmatics 23 (1995) 183-197

The second result of my analysis is the finding that women have a social place inBrazilian society, but that this place is restricted to a particular discourse in the bigcities. This fin ding is revealed by the linguistic analysis of suggestions for the Con-stitution of 1988 (4.3). Further work must be done to define w om en 's place vis-?t-visthe previous result, which points to heterogeneity in gender meaning, produced byunequal power relations.

Re f e r en c e sAratljo, Emanuel, 1993. O teatro dos vfcios: Transgressao e transig~ncia na sociedade urbana colonial[The theater of vices: Transgression and permissiveness in Brazilian colonial urban society]. Rio deJaneiro: Jos6 Olympio.Authier-Revuz, Jacqueline, 1990. Heterogeneidade(s) enunciativa(s) [Heterogeneity in utterances].

Brazilian trans. C.M. Cruz and J.W. Geraldi. Cadernos de Estudos Lingtifsticos [Papers in Linguistics]19:25-42 (1984). Campinas, S.P.: Editora da Universidade Estadual de Campinas.Cameron, Deborah, 1985. Feminism and linguistic theory. London: Macmillan.Cunha, Celso and Cintra, Lindley, 1985. Nova gram~itica do portugu6s contemporfineo [New grammar ofcontemporary Portuguese]. 2rid ed. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira.De Souza, Danilo M., 1983. Action-guiding language. Journal of Pragmatics 7: 49-62.Ducrot, Oswald, 1987. O dizer e o dito [The saying and the said]. Rev. trans. E. Guimaraes. Campinas,S.P.: Pontes.Fairclough, Norman, 1989. Language and power. London: Longman.Foucault, Michel, 1969. L'arch6ologie du savoir. Paris: Gallimard.Fowler, Roger., Bob Hodge, Gunther Kress and Tony Trew, 1979. Language and control. London: Rout-ledge.Fowler, Roger and Gunther Kress, 1979. Critical linguistics. In: R. Fowler et al ., 1979, 185-213.Garfinkel, Harold, 1967. Studies in ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Giv6n, T., 1979. On understanding grammar. New York: Academic Press.Halliday, M.A.K. and Ruqaiya Hasan, 1985. Language, context, and text: Aspects of language in asocial semiotic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press (1989).Hymes, Dell, 1974. Foundations in sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach. London: Tavistock Pub-lications (1977).Jornal do Brasil, Flor da pele [The great seductress]. 8th May 1988.Kress, Gunther, 1985. Linguistic processes in sociocultural practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press(1989).Levinson, Stephen, 1983. Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Magalh~es, Maria Izabel S., 1991. Discurso da mulher ~ nova Constituiq~o do Brasil [Women's dis-course in the new Brazilian Constitution]. In: S. Monclaire, ed., 1991, 143-186.Monclaire, St6phane, ed., 1991. A Constitui~o desejada: SAIC: As 72.719 sugestSes enviadas peloscidadSos brasileiros a Assembl6ia Nacional Constituinte [The desired Constitution: SAIC: The 72,719suggestions sent to the Constitution National Assembly by Brazilian citizens]. Brasflia: Senado Fed-eral, Centro Gr~ifico.Orlandi, Eni Pulcinelli, 1990. Terra h vista: Discurso do confronto: Velho e novo mundo. [Land! Thediscourse of confrontation: Old and New World]. S~o Paulo: Cortez; Campinas, S.P.: Editora da Uni-versidade Estadual de Campinas.Poynton, Cate, 1985. Language and gender: Making the difference. Oxford: Oxford University Press(1989).Sabino, Femando, 1991. Z61ia, uma paix~o [Zelia, a passion]. Rio de Janeiro: Record.Schank, R. and R. Abelson, 1977. Scripts, plans, goals and understanding. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Spender, Dale, 1980. Man made language. London: Routledge.Sousa, Maur/cio, 1992. Tina, 21. Rio de Janeiro: Globo.

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Sta lnaker , R .C . , 1978 . Asser t ion . In : P . Cole , ed . , Syntax and semant ics , Vol . 9 : Pragmat ics , 315-332 .N ew Y o rk : A cad em i c P re s s .Su~rez , Mireya , In terv iew publ i shed in Campus. Un ivers i ty o f Brasf li a , June 1992.Thom pson , Joh n B . , 1984 . Stud ies in the theory of ideo logy . Londo n: Po l i ty Press.