Machado de Assis

I have always been impressed by some interpretations of Machado de Assis that turn his realism into something more conformist than critical. I believe part of this is due to the separation between the author's life and his work.

As much as there are controversies regarding Machado's life, one cannot attribute to the author the lifestyle of his characters. Machado was greatly influenced by English literature, hence all his irony, and he was a profound scholar. Yes, Machado has nothing to do with Quincas Borba’s humanitism, which cynically sought to take advantage of reality, no matter how disadvantageous it appeared to be.

This is not about canonizing Machado de Assis, but one cannot extract from his work a defense of José Dias' malicious opportunism, nor of Bentinho’s cowardice, who resorts to all sorts of schemes to escape the consequences of his true desires. Machado is not inviting his reader into a kind of dialogue like that of Capitu and Bentinho, eager to deceive all the other characters, nor is he outsourcing his will and promises like Dona Glória.

In general, Machado’s characters are oblique and dissembling, and for those who might agree with their trajectories, indeed, having children is passing on the legacy of our misery. Machado had no children, but he saw no particular reckoning in that.

Finally, to Machado, Ben Jonson’s phrase about Shakespeare applies: There is more to be praised than to be pardoned. The same cannot be said for his characters.