Eleven Minutes

In every new setting she enters, Maria works to set herself apart from other workers. She works to become the most trusted drapery employee, the most engaged samba dancer, and the most sought-after sex worker in the Copacabana. Is it ironic for a person with Maria’s drive to become a sex worker, which most cultures would understand as having sunk hopelessly to the bottom of society? Maria herself acknowledges that the Swiss economy has plenty of jobs that a person in her position could fill, so why would such an ambitious, goal-oriented person become a sex worker?

Ralf Hart sees Maria as she sits in a cantina and recognizes she has a rare light about her that he wants not simply to paint but to experience. From the moment she hears his voice, before she ever looks at him, he has a profound impact on her that only increases throughout the narrative. Thus, it could be said that, for Ralf, it was love at first sight and for Maria, it was love at first sound. Is this instant mutual attraction just a literary device Coelho uses to bring these two together for the purposes of the story or is falling in love in this way truly possible in real relationships?

One reviewer refers to Eleven Minutes as an adult fairy tale. Indeed, Coelho uses no foul language either to refer to the sex workers in the narrative or in the dialogue. His only reference to pregnancy is the reason Maria’s parent got married, and he discusses sexually transmitted diseases only in regard to Switzerland’s regulations for sex workers. When he describes intercourse between Maria and her clients, Coelho simply says she opens her legs. He uses no explicit terminology or vulgar language throughout the book apart from describing Maria’s experience with Terence and her last night with Ralf. Why would Coelho write a novel about sex work so antiseptically?

When Ralph and Maria first meet in the cantina, she speaks to him indignantly and tries to walk away. He takes control of the situation by ignoring her intention to leave and ordering another drink for her. The first time they are at his home together and Ralf expresses inner doubt, Maria recognizes the opportunity to control the relationship and determines everything they will and will not do. Since true love and intimacy are generally expressed as emotional equality, why is it these two people, who are so much in love are each, try to control the other? Does intimacy require mutuality? Can two people truly be in love when one of them is always in control of the relationship?

In every quasi-permanent setting, Maria is notably without long-lasting friendships. Why does she not have more friends? 

Coelho intentionally distinguishes between economically motivated sex workers and religious sex workers. Research the history of religious sex work. What historical religions incorporated the use of sex workers and what was their purpose? When was religious sex work last practiced? What degree of social standing was enjoyed by religious sex workers? Were they demeaned, marginalized, and objectified the way financial sex workers can be today?

Coelho implies that modern patriarchal religions played a role in relegating sex workers to the lowest rung of social ladders. Research public perceptions of the place of sex workers in society. Have sex workers always been regarded as unworthy social “outcasts”? Is the notion that sex workers are unworthy of acceptance in society a current concept or has it always been the case?

Readers could perceive that Eleven Minutes is a systematic examination of enduring major issues surrounding sexuality, including sex work, voyeurism, sadomasochism, and adultery. One issue Coelho never addresses is attraction to members of the same sex. Why does he omit this extremely prevalent topic? In what ways might sex workers such as those the author describes at the Copacabana be faced with issues relating to this attraction?