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University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan 'QUINCAS BORBA' IN RELATION TO THE OTHER EIGHT NOVELS OF MACHADO DE ASSIS Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Param, Charles Eugene Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 10:44:26 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/284975 68-14,180 PARAM, Charles Eugene, 1925- ' QUINCAS BORBA IN RELATION TO THE OTHER EIGHT NOVELS OF MACHADO DE ASSIS. [Portions of Text in Portuguese]. University of Arizona, Ph.D., 1968 Language and Literature, modern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan 1967 Charles Eugene Param ALL RIGHTS RESERVED QUIMCAS BORBA IN RELATION TO THE OTHER • EIGHT NOVELS OF MACHADO DE ASSIS by Charles Eugene Param A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES WITH A MAJOR IN SPANISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1968 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA. GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Charles Eugene Param entitled Q,uincas Borba in Relation to the Other Eight Novels of Machado de Assis be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 1, 1968 Dissertation Director Date After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance: 'I,.i,, 6U,?l —7 f * 19& /f (16*6 [ J /'I I3 This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borroxrers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allow­ able without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manu­ script in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: CL a.™ PREFACE The purpose of this study is to help fill a rather neglected area in the study of 'Machado de Assis and his novels. Specifically involved is Quincas Borba, a novel that appeared between the highly praised and heavily ana­ lyzed Memdrlas pcfetumas de Bras Cubas and Pom Casmurro, It is my thesis that Quincas Borba must be considered as impor­ tant as its two companion novels in regard to the autobio­ graphical impulse of the writer. For approximately four years I have sought pertinent material from every available source in an effort to find the meaning of Quincas Borba and to locate its proper place in the study of the life and works of Machado de Assis. The authorities I have cited include the writer's "detractors" and his "defenders" as well as many who have been able to study the author without engaging in any of the polemics en­ gendered by Machado*s personal life. This wide range of critics has been found to be useful in that they provide an ample base for discussion of the author and his works and because there is a certain amount of objective criticism in the comments of every critic that I have cited. The lack of standardized spelling and accentuation in the Portuguese language down through the years poses a problem in the preparation of scholarly papers. I have met iv this problem by quoting the critics as their comments appear in the works cited and have made corrections only in cases of obvious typographical errors. I wish to express my appreciation to the many pro­ fessors at the University of Arizona whose interest in my work has made this dissertation possible. Especially I want to acknowledge the interest and efforts of Dr. Robert R. Anderson, Dr. John Brooks, Dr. Timothy Brown (my disserta­ tion director), Dr. Joe Malik, Dr. Charles Olstad, Dr. Renato Rosaldo (my major advisor and Head of the Department of Romance Languages), Dr. H. Reynolds Stone, and Dr. Agapito Rey. TABLE OP CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT vii CHAPTER I, THE IMPORTANCE OF QUINCAS BORBA ....... 1 II. THE ANALYSIS OF RUBlSO. 6 III. INSANITY 47 IV. DREAMS AND FANTASY 82 V. CHILDREN 115 VI. POLITICS AND CONTROVERSY. .•. .146 VII. THE NEGRO 185 VIII. INHERITANCE 222 IX. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL IMPULSE .235 X. CONCLUSION 246 REFERENCES L .... 277 vl ABSTRACT The autobiographical impulse in the works of Machado de Assis has been noted by critics to be very strong. Mem&rlas p^stumas de Bras Cubas (1881) and Memorial de Aires (1908) have been identified as reflecting two important periods in Machado's life, his deepest pessimism and his subsequent reconciliation with life. Qulncas Borba (I89I) also represents a vital period and is therefore indispens­ able in the study of the writer's life and works. Qulncas Borba is primarily confession, relating to Machado's role in the social and political issues of his times and to certain aspects of his personal and private life. The abolition of slavery in 1888 and the establish­ ment of the Republic in 1889 apparently freed him from tensions regarding these issues. The death of his step­ mother in 1891, before the publication of Quincas Borba, affected him in another way, causing mixed feelings re­ garding the rejection and concealment of his humble past. The times were propitious for confession. In Qulncas Borba there is evidence that Machado had begun to recover from the depths of disillusionment that marks Br£s Cubas. There appears a more objective view of humanity, and although the latter work is known for its probings into the soul of man, Qulncas Borba is superior vli j j viii due to its objectivity. Both novels present the negative side of the moral scale, but Quincas Borba balances the pic­ ture of humanity with equal representation on the positive side. The tracing of certain recurring themes across all of Machado's novels shows how Quincas Borba is identified as the point at which Machado's view of humanity began to change. Themes that touch the life of Rubiao and are identifiable in the author's life, appear in Quincas Borba as the significant exception to their usual treatment. The conclusion is that the author's attitude during the period of the writing of the novel was distinctly different from what it was at any time after his first novel. The author was speaking in a more honest way, rejecting the molds of Lufs Garcia and Bras Cubas, and substituting Rubiao as the vehicle for his expression. Rubiao and Machado share many points of similarity, certain aspects of the author's life that have caused a continuing polemic among critics. In Rubiao, Machado explained his own non-participa­ tion In the great issues of his times, his own inferiority complex, his own compromise with his principles, and his own remorse and nostalgia as he recalled his youth. The recurr­ ing theme of the Negro reveals that for the author, slavery was a dead issue. The political theme includes, for the first time, both the corrupt politician and the dedicated public servant, but the profession is viewed with the ix greatest disdain by the writer. This is in direct contrast with the theme of politics in Machado's first and last novels. Evidence of a more objective analysis of man is found in the actions and reactions of the other characters in Qulncas Borba as they are studied through the recurring themes. Machado's first novels reflect the tranquility of the writer's life at the time, just as Br^s Cubas mirrors his desolation when his epilepsy recurred around 1877. Memorial de Aires Is an honest expression of his sentiments as his life was drawing to a close. The importance of Qulncas Borba is that it shows Machado as he was when the great social and political issues were settled, and when the last visible link with his humble past was destroyed. The novel could not have been written at any other time. CHAPTER I THE IMPORTANCE OF QUINCAS BORBA Because most of the critical comment on the nine novels of Machado de Assis concerns his fifth and seventh works , He mor 3.as p6stumas de Br^s Cubas (1881) and Pom Casmurro (1901), it might be assumed that the author reached his peak during this twenty-year period. Machado's novels span the years 18?2 to 1908, and thus the two works named above fall roughly in the middle of his novelistic production. In sharp contrast with the heavily studied fifth and seventh novels of Machado is Qulncas Borba (I891), a work that appeared as the sixth in the series. This latter work has been but slightly studied, either in com­ parison with its two companion works or in its own right. Such a situation might indicate that Quincas Borba does not measure up to either Br£s Cubas or Pom Casmurro in quality, interest, or importance. It is my belief that Qulncas Borba is more than the perhaps uninteresting story of the last years in the life of Machado's most pathetic male character.
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