Blimunda
from Baltasar and Blimunda (Memorial do Convento)
by José Saramago
An illustration for Ladies of Literature Vol.2.
Blimunda (a.k.a. Seven-Moons) has the ability to see people (and everything else) on the inside. She’s one of three protagonists, and they’re trying to build a flying contraption in 18th century Portugal during Inquisition. Bartolomeu, the “brains” of the operation, figures out there’s something inside people - “human wills”- which are necessary to lift their contraption. And it turns out Blimunda has the power to capture those into a jar as they leave the body of dying or desperate people - so she sets off to Lisbon as a plague spreads.
My favourite character from the only required reading book I truly enjoyed in secondary school. I was tempted to pick a more international or trendier character for this anthology, but… this felt right.
