Untying the knots: it was neither house nor home, testimonies of domestic violence (Oeiras, Piauí, 1994–2012)

Abstract

Though common sense may identify a house as a home, the two words do not have the same meaning. This article discusses the space of the house as an insecure location for some women, based on the testimonial narrative of the traumatic memories of a woman from Oeiras (PI) who was the victim of domestic violence for 18 years. It addresses, initially, the notion of family arrangements and the myth of romantic love. The article further discusses the love dispositive as one of the elements of identification of traditional female identity. Next, the testimonial narrative and the reconstitution of identity are presented. Finally, the work points out that domestic violence is the result of inequalities and hierarchies between the genders and that the linking of female subjectivation restricted to the love dispositive and marriage, with intense investment by women, in particular, reflecting on what was portrayed in the text, can lead to tensions, violence, sacrifices and self-negation.