Dom Casmurro (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- First Published: 1899
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: 1857-1900
- Setting: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Principal Characters: Bento Santiago, Capitú, Escobar, Ezekiel, Sancha, Dona Gloria, José Dias
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: Husbands, Parents and children, Friendship, Fathers, Truthfulness and falsehood, Human behavior
- Locales: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Novel
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.
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