Clarice Lispector’s novel The Hour of the Star tells the story of a man who writes a novel and the story of the woman about whom he writes. The writer, who is given the name Rodrigo S. M., explains his feelings and motivations about writing the story, which he clearly identifies as fiction, of a poor, uneducated, sickly immigrant from Brazil’s impoverished Northeastern region who goes to Rio de Janeiro. Her life is as nearly empty of events, relationships, and even ordinary needs as a human life can be. Yet, in the course, of the novel, the character, Macaba, arrives at some degree of understanding of the universe, of her existence, of god/*that surpasses what her frustrated creator can achieve. While Macaba’s story is completely engrossing, it fights for space with the struggles of her intrusive narrator-creator. Both characters function as part…