Narrating Life, Constructing History: Narrative Identity, Situated Enunciation, and the Struggle over Historical Inscription

identidad narrativa, lugar de enunciación y disputa por la inscripción histórica

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between narrative identity, autobiography, and historical inscription from a hermeneutic perspective inspired by Paul Ricoeur, in dialogue with contemporary Brazilian philosophy. It argues that the narrative of a singular life not only shapes personal identity but can also intervene in the production of history by becoming inscribed within collective frameworks of meaning. To this end, the concept of historical inscription is introduced to describe the process through which certain life narratives gain public visibility and reconfigure shared memory. The analysis engages with Black feminist and decolonial thought, particularly the notion of “place of speech” developed by Djamila Ribeiro and the idea of “não-lugar” in Brazilian philosophical reflection. From this perspective, autobiography is understood not as the inscription of a preexisting identity, but as a narrative construction of a position of enunciation. The case study of Carolyn Steedman shows that this issue is not confined to peripheral contexts but constitutes a structural feature of narrative identity. In this sense, autobiography emerges as a practice capable of challenging dominant frameworks of intelligibility and actively shaping the collective understanding of the past.