Bento opens his narrative by explaining that he was given his nickname, Dom Casmurro, or “Mr. Stubborn,” by a young man in his neighborhood. Boredom led Bento to write a book, and a rejection of other topics led him to write about his own life.
Dom Casmurro is an 1899 novel written by Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis.
Almost all the Brazilian critics received Dom Casmurro favorably upon its publication, but none appeared ready for its many innovations and subtleties, particularly the ironic tone of the narrator.
An aristocratic group, the landowners held titles such as Viscount, Baron, and Duke. The protagonist of Dom Casmurro, Bento Santiago, grew up in a ruling-class family, though without an aristocratic title. His father owned a fazenda in Itaguai, a town 40 miles west of Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilA novel set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1857 to the turn of the century; published in Portuguese in 1899, in English in 1953. A retired, aristocratic lawyer writes a jaded and ironic account of his teenage courtship, marriage, and later abandonment of his apparently unfaithful wife.
1899Dom Casmurro is an 1899 novel written by Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis....Dom Casmurro.AuthorMachado de AssisLanguagePortugueseGenrerealismPublished1899 (1st Brazilian edition), Livraria Garnier, Rio de Janeiro2 more rows
Dom Casmurro may be interpreted as narrator and protagonist Bento Santiago’s attempt to relieve himself of the guilt he feels for having destroyed his relationship with his wife and son and for the jealousy he came to harbor for his dead best friend. Relief of the guilt may come from earning the support of a sympathetic reader. It may also come, however, from Bento’s admitting, finally, that he was wrong. Though such an admission never occurs within the novel itself, it is possible to conclude that even Bento suspects the truth behind his sad story.
Bento shuts his wife and son out of his life and plans his suicide. Following a performance of William Shakespeare’s Othello, he realizes, however, that it is Capitú who should die, not he. She, after all, is his Desdemona—except that Capitú, unlike Desdemona, is guilty. Still, he plans to kill himself with poison-laced coffee, but he is interrupted by Ezekiel, to whom he offers the lethal drink before withdrawing the cup at the last second. He confesses his suspicions regarding Ezekiel’s paternity to Capitú, but while her words deny it, the boy’s resemblance to Escobar is proof enough for Bento.
As the narrator, Bento is an older man writing about his life. The story begins when he is fifteen years old, in the year 1857. Bento begins to fall in love with a girl named Capitu who lives near his family. His mother learns of their affections and considers forcing Bento to go to seminary to become a priest before the couple gets any further along.
Bento’s jealousy does not solidify, however, nor even focus on its true target until Escobar’s drowning death in the ocean. Capitú’s eyes as she views Escobar’s body at the funeral speak volumes for Bento, who on the spot concludes that Capitú and Escobar had been lovers. He soon concludes, as well, that Ezekiel, the image of Bento’s dead friend, is really Escobar’s son.
Bento's suspicion regarding his wife's faithfulness is framed in a way that makes Bento look like the victim of a conspiracy. The novel is filled with tragedies: his friend, whom he accuses of having an affair with his wife, dies; his wife later dies in Europe after she begs Bento to join her and their son; later on, Bento's son dies during an archaeological expedition in the Middle East.
Dom Casmurro is a novel written by Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. The book was published in 1899. The narrator of the novel is Bento Santiago, a lawyer, who gained the nickname "Dom Casmurro" ("Mr. Stubborn" in Brazilian Portuguese) during his youth.
Bento shows contempt for everyone around him. His paranoia appears to stem from delusional imaginings. His wife has reiterated multiple times that she did not cheat on him and that their son is indeed his, not the offspring of his friend.
Since the narrative is told from the viewpoint of Bento, the reader is given a biased one-dimensional perspective of the events that occur in the novel. In fact, one can interpret the narration of Bento as the diary of a man with a complex psyche. The lawyer narrates his life as if trying to convince a jury, which, in this case, is the reader. Bento exhibits traits of someone who is extremely insecure, paranoid, and cynical. Bento can be perceived as a sociopath or as a psychopath. In the novel, Bento contemplates and almost attempts both suicide and homicide of his loved ones.
Bento represents the weak masculinity in society at the time —patriarchal and yet full of insecurities, especially regarding cuckoldry.
The novel opens in the late 1890s in the Engenho Novo suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. The first-person narrator, Bento Santiago, begins by recounting the manner in which he received the nickname “Dom Casmurro,” and the reason that he has used the name as the title of his memoirs. Now a retired lawyer, he states that in this book, Dom Casmurro, he will tell the real story of his life, a story that begins in 1857, when he is 15. Bento, or Dom Casmurro, frequently interrupts his linear narrative: he addresses his readers directly, comments (often ironically) on the events of the past, interjects other stories from the past, forgets the details of certain incidents, and discusses his present situation in the 1890s. These interruptions are ubiquitous and difficult at times to separate from the plot, which makes Dom Casmurro a sly narrator. This idea is crucial to understanding the novel. His tale begins as 15-year-old Bento is eavesdropping on a conversation between the adults at his widowed mother’s home: “that was when my life began… now I was to begin my Opera” (Machado de Assis, Dom Casmurro, p. 17). In invoking the idea of an “opera” the narrator speaks on two levels: he both marks the start of the major events of his life, and implies that he will be orchestrating his description of the events to follow. Rather than simply narrating the events of his memoir, Dom Casmurro will arrange and stage them for the reader.
In the seminary Bento becomes close friends with Escobar , another youth uninterested in the priesthood. Escobar is passionate about commerce. His new friend accompanies Bento to dinner at his mother’s home during the weekend furloughs that provide Bento and Capitu with extra opportunities to see each other. After Escobar ’s departure from his first visit, Capitu speaks from her window to Bento standing in the street. A young gallant on horseback passes by and exchanges looks with Capitu, a common way of flirting. Jealousy overwhelms Bento—“Just try to reason with a burning heart like mine at that moment!” ( Dom Casmurro, p. 136). This is not his first attack of jealousy and Bento despairs, but the next day Capitu consoles him: there is nothing between her and the horseman. She loves only Bento.
While men were conceived of as active, mobile, and strong, women were regarded as passive, domestic, and weak. Only sons had the opportunity to receive an education; daughters were raised solely to serve their husbands and male relatives. Accordingly, in Dom Casmurro Bento studies both theology and law, while his female playmate, Ca-pitu, stays home, helping his mother, who is herself dedicated to her son.
Gradual changes in the hierarchies of gender, class, economics, and race had an effect on politics in Brazil in 1889. The ailing Emperor had lost the confidence and support of liberal and conservative factions alike. Although he promoted the modernization of Brazil, his reign had never taken the lead in reaching for the future. The powerful middle class grew impatient with his lackluster regime, and a number of prominent figures declared themselves in favor of a republic. Conservatives also chafed under the Emperor because they felt betrayed by the abolition of slavery without compensation. The army disdained the bookish Emperor for his apparent contempt of their ranks. When the Emperor’s health faltered and he did not recover after his medical treatment in Europe, all parties grew concerned about the succession. Neither the Princess Isabel nor her French husband were attractive successors. There was not yet a popular cry to replace the empire with a new form of government, but the minority took the reins. Even though they lacked popular civilian support, the armed forces fomented a coup on September 7, 1889, which sent Emperor Dom Pedro II into exile and created the Republic of Brazil. Backed by republican politicians and citizens, General Deodoro da Fonseca proclaimed the country’s new status. He proceeded to serve as the first president, while civilian politicians took posts as ministers. They replaced the imperial arms on the Brazilian flag with the slogan “Order and Progress,” a motto that formalized the change in the nation’s direction.
Dom Pedro II’s rule ushered in a period of political stability and economic expansion, during which Brazil’s modernization began. The intellectual and cultural life of Rio de Janeiro and the other cities of Brazil grew to unprecedented proportions. However, while the Emperor encouraged the country’s modernization and urbanization, Brazil under his reign failed to keep up with the pace of change set by European nations at the time. To what degree this failure can be attributed to the emperor is open to question. According to one of the baronesses of the day, “ [Pedro II’s] palace seemed a graveyard to all lively people, especially to young men and women” (Ortigao in Freyre, Order and Progress, p. 62). But hers was by no means a unanimous opinion; others regarded Pedro II as an enlightened, charismatic leader.
Upon overhearing Jose’s revelation, Bento has a sexual awakening and realizes that he does love Capitu. He visits her, and, after some flirting, reveals what he has overheard. Capitu helps Bento figure out how to keep himself out of the seminary, and recommends that, instead, he attend law school in Sao Paulo—Brazil’s premier school of advanced education. She also proposes that Bento enlist Jose Dias’s help. As a fellow seeker of faver from the Santiagos—her father is in debted to Dona Gloria—Capitu astutely knows that Jose Dias will agree to help. If he wishes to retain his position in the family, he has no choice but to follow the direct orders of the young heir.
For centuries, as both a Portuguese colony and an independent nation, Brazilian society consisted of an upper class of wealthy European rulers and an underclass of African, mulatto, and mestizo slaves. There was also a diverse middle segment of government officials, merchants, artisans, doctors, lawyers, teachers, priests, and army officers; from the 1850s to the 1890s, this middle segment would become large enough to influence developments in Brazil and to challenge the rural upper class.
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Dom Casmurro is an 1899 novel, written by Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. Like The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas and Quincas Borba, both by Machado de Assis, it is widely regarded as a masterpiece of realist literature.