"Ao vencido, ódio ou compaixão". Entre a desfaçatez e a diplomacia: a fidelidade à arte de Machado de Assis

Abstract

Motivated by critical images on Machado de Assis and his work, I investigate the meanings of Brás Cubas impudence and Aires’ diplomacy. From the analysis of a Conselheiros dream, in which he sees him self among a group of happy children, I attempt to interpret Memorial de Aires. It interests me to understand how the construction of the novel combines the critical representation of the impasses of the abolition of slavery in Brazil with the tragic expression of a “modern Ecclesiastes” Forming a moral hermeneutics between the understanding of the egoistic necessities and the compassion for the losers, the novel discloses the fidelity of Machado de Assis to art, the unique form to overcome the limits of the social order and the human condition