Near to the Wild Heart opens with a scene of the child Joana playing in the garden, making up poems for her father. Joana's wildness and barely suppressed violence, along with her linguistic creativity, are her most notable features. She is frequently compared to animals: over the course of the book Lispector compares her to a bird, a snake, a wildcat, a horse, and a dog. She commits transgressive acts—as a child she throws a book at an old man's head, for example, and as a married woman she leaves her husband, Otávio, and greets the news of his adultery—he has made another woman, his
LGBT rights in Croatia As a result of a 2013 referendum, Croatia's Constitution defines marriage solely as a union between a woman and man, effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, since the introduction of the Life Partnership Act in 2014, same-sex couples have effectively enjoyed rights equal to heterosexual married couples in everything except adoption rights. However, the separate legislation does provide same-sex couples with a mechanism similar to step-child adoption called "partner-guardianship". Croatia bans all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Centre-left, centre, and green political parties have generally been the main proponents of LGBT rights, while right-wing,