The Passion According to G.H. is a literary philosophical exercise written through the lens of a female sculptor named G.H. after she has the experience of seeing, killing, and then consuming a cockroach. G.H. begins to write about her experience, and through this character Clarice Lispector develops a very nuanced philosophy of what being, and knowledge are. Lispector uses various literary devices such as oxymorons (p. 59), and metaphor (p. 5) to characterize the transformation in philosophy that G.H. goes through. This choice often helps to create deeper meaning to concepts we would take for granted in typical philosophical writing. A great example of this is her juxtaposition of typical human experiences, with the experiences of what she refers to as “the nothing”.
This nothing is quite elusive to convey, it is referenced by many names including God (p. 97), Primal Time (p. 142), and the thing (p. 84). This act of even trying to name the nothing is ultimately even questioned by G.H. when she says “But I am the one who must stop myself from giving my name to the thing. The name is an accretion which blocks contact to the thing.” (p. 145). G.H also recognizes the futility of trying to elucidate fully on this nothing (p. 101). G.H specifies several reasons for this difficulty of explanation, one of the strongest is a reference to being stuck in our own human conceptions; “The only destiny we are born with is that of the ritual. I had been calling the ‘mask’ a lie, and it wasn’t: it was the essential mask of solemnity.” (p. 119). This is a powerful example of how poetic imagery adds an acute specificity to Lispector’s philosophical point here. The nothing is perpetual, and most animals like the roach are engaging with it because they do not have free will to do otherwise. Humanity however can construct “vital lies”, which present ways out of the truth of reality that comfort us.
G.H. questions later whether these masks have always existed for humanity “Ah, could it be that we were not originally human? And that, out of practical necessity, we became human?” (p. 123). Has the passage of time, and our development into a sentient species forced us to construct masks for simplicity and comforts sake? These masks help us to shape our understanding of everything, they are necessary to construct truths about our world. G.H. uses the roach as a symbol of an even deeper truth to the world. She posits this as being quite frightening (p. 6) and uses the metaphor that it takes “the courage of a child” (p. 5) to explore the truth of the nothing. In other words, once we have taken the time to construct a truth about something it is daunting to be willing to go back and potentially admit you are wrong (p. 111), or even that you are wrong and do not know how to become correct (p. 5). When you are a child it is assumed you know nothing, and you are free to explore, observe and learn without fear or being tied preconceived notions. The imagery of even consuming the roach (p. 172) is used to reinforce this point, as sometimes to truly understand something you need to set aside the human aversion to disgust and fully indulge in the idea and experience of something. The nothing, understood through G.H.’s explanation of the reality of the roach represents a deeper truth, a truth that just exists, despite humanity. Right from the beginning Lispector makes it clear that this notion of time is important, and that it relates directly to the acquisition of knowledge. Even in the epigraph she mentions that the book should be read by those who understand that knowledge and understanding comes to those willing to endure the gradual and painstakingly long process necessary.
G.H in her writing indicates this deeper truth ultimately is quite indifferent to humanity (p. 126). It exists, just outside the typical human purview, and we as humans have the option to “take off our masks” and engage with it. G.H. characterizes this nothing as an oxymoron of experience. G.H. employs the hearing of a nothing as a metaphor for the experience. For example, “I was always receiving the mute signal” (p. 27) and “a neutral murmur.” (p. 138). This nothing is both a neutrality (p. 84), and likewise is “…an extremely energetic indifference.” (p. 126). Unlike our typical idea of indifference, which occasionally some sort of derision this nothing is pure apathy. This is not necessarily a bad thing however, as G.H. notes that this indifference presents a form of freedom typically unavailable to us in everyday life. G.H. states, “FORGIVENESS IS AN ATTRIBUTE OF LIVING MATTER” (p. 63), implying that nature does not care about the adjudication of humanity. Human crimes committed can be forgiven, they cannot permeate all of existence in the same way that the nothing does.
The nothing being conveyed by G.H. as indifferent as it is makes sense when you consider her characterization of the nothing as atemporal. Specifically, G.H. says the nothing is “The abyss of an unending time.” (p. 126). With that style of language, human affairs would get drowned out in the background of something of that scale. She makes it clear that the experience of this scale drowns out all our human notions of meaning (pp. 138-139). The nothing, and the typical human experience are diametrically opposed. G.H. notes that to even instantiate a meaning in the human sense, we must run away from the truth of the nothing. As humans instead of embracing the nothing we construct a more comfortable truth that fits into our societal narrative (p. 7). In essence throughout her writing G.H. is suggesting that truth, and what being is and means, can only truly be understood through the integration of both human experiences, and the inhuman reality of the nothing. Lispector’s use of language conveys philosophical context in a meaningful way that can help the reader understand her writing more deeply. Whether it be the imagery (p. 95), the metaphors (p. 83), or the allegory (p. 138) she can condense complex ideas into relatable phrasing for the reader