Dom Casmurro

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Title page of the first edition 1899.

The novel Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis , first published in 1899, is one of the most important works of Brazilian realism .

The protagonist and at the same time the narrator of the story is Bentinho , a husband from Rio de Janeiro who suspects himself to be cheated and who asks himself several times during the course of the plot whether his wife Capitu has cheated on him with his best friend Escobar and whether their son, as a result, probably not be also begotten of this. Bentinho is a subjective narrator with a limited field of vision, so even though the book lacks an explicit answer to the question of whether he was actually cheated, the reader is at least encouraged to conclude that this is probably the truth.

action

The action begins when the still young Bentinho rebels against his family, who had decided that he should become a priest, and at first secretly meets with Capitu , his childhood sweetheart . It quickly becomes clear to both of them that they have to fight for their love and so it is, although Bentinho initially has to do an apprenticeship with Pastor Cabral for some time , it is clear to both of them that they will marry as soon as he returns. At this time he met Escobar , whom he could confide in and whom he gained as a friend beyond his apprenticeship. Escobar's subtlety enabled both of them to leave the apprenticeship prematurely and still marry their lover, Bentinho with Capitu and Escobar with her best friend Sancha Gurgel . The Escobar marriage soon saw offspring, a daughter whom, amazingly, he had named Capitu. Bentinhos and his Capitu fertility, however remains unfulfilled for a long time what Capitu at Escobar asks for advice and behold, a little later also arises in marriage Bentinhos young one. The newborn now goes by the name Ezequiel , which is also the first name Escobars .

Shortly afterwards, Escobar dies mysteriously. Bentinho found out about this misfortune when he was sitting at work and was quickly distracted by the astonishing resemblance between his filius and his friend Escobar in a photo. He quickly forgets his doubts over the tragic news, but only a little later, when he reminisces about his lost friend, they gradually come back. He remembers occasional meetings of his wife with his best friend, he watches how his son Ezequiel resembles him more and more and so his doubts begin to grow. In his desperation, he briefly considers suicide, but keeps postponing this idea. Instead, he is surprised by Capitu shortly afterwards when he tries to kill the boy Ezequiel.

From a joint trip to Switzerland, Bentinho returns alone, without a wife and son. He left her there because Ezequiel is said to have better prospects of an excellent education there. When Ezequiel returns as a young man one day, he seems to have cut Escobar's face, he tells about his mother's death, that she is buried in Switzerland and that he is now a trained archaeologist and on the way to excavations in the Middle East. A little later, Bentinho received news that his son had also died of typhus, as it is said, and that he was buried in sacred earth.

The hopeful, youthful, combative Bentinho , whom the reader got to know at the beginning, who wanted to realize his dreams together with his beloved Capitu , has now become an old, bitter, lonely man who could not be above his doubts and so everything again lost what he fought for.

expenditure

Digital copies

literature

Essays
  • Paul B. Dixon: Dom Casmurro ea colonização . In: Brazil. Revista de literatura brasileira , Vol. 31 (2004), pp. 59-71, ISSN  0103-751X .
  • Elena Ralle: Dom Casmurro. Statut du narrateur et fonctions du discours metanarratif . In: Recherches en linguistique étrangère , Vol. 10 (1985), pp. 91-114.
  • Kathrin A. Rosenfeld: "Dom Casmurro". Romance trágico, romântico ou realista? In: Scripta. Literatura , Vol. 4 (2001), Issue 8, pp. 305-318.
  • Lori Ween: The missing middle. Two translations of Machado de Assis' "Dom Casmurro" . In: Translation Review , Vol. 53 (1997), pp. 11-15, ISSN  0737-4836 .
  • Dieter Woll: Machado de Assis, "Dom Casmurro"; "Casmurro" e os dicionários . In: Ana María Brito u. a. (Ed.): Sentido que a vida faz. Estudos para Óscar Lopes . Camp das Letras, Poro 1997, pp. 885-895, ISBN 972-610047-X .
  • Patricia D. Zecevic: The beloved as male projection. A comparative study of " The Elective Affinities " and "Dom Casmurro" . In: German Life and Letters , Vol. 47 (1994), Issue 4, pp. 469-476, ISSN  0016-8777 .
Monographs
  • John Gledson: The deceptive realism of Machado de Assis. A dissenting interpretation of "Dom Casmurro" . Cairns Press, Liverpool 1984, ISBN 0-905205-19-7 .
  • Valéria Jacó Monteiro: Casmurro Cathedral. Escritura e discurso; ensaio em literatura e psicanálise . Hacker Editorial, São Paulo 1997, ISBN 85-86179-10-8 .
  • Gilberto Pinheiro Passos: Capitu ea mulher fatal. Análise de presença francesa in "Dom Casmurro" . Nankin Editorial, São Paulo 2003, ISBN 85-86372-60-9 .

Web links

Wikisource: Dom Casmurro  - Sources and full texts (Portuguese)