Epitaph of a Small Winner (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- First Published: 1881
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: 1805-1870
- Setting: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire, Philosophical realism
- Subjects: Philosophy or philosophers, Love or romance, Nineteenth century, Friendship, Adultery, Brazil or Brazilians, Theft, Life, philosophy of, Wealth
- Locales: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Characters Discussed
Braz Cubas (“Bras” in the original), the somewhat spoiled son of a typical upper-class Brazilian family. A cynical egoist afflicted by the countercurrents of sentimentalism and melancholy, Braz describes his own death at the beginning of the first-person narration and then relates the rest of his life as flashbacks. In each of his major social or intellectual enterprises, Braz aspires to external fame and internal satisfaction, but his accomplishments are only mediocre and superficial. A classicist in a romantic environment, he seeks sex, philosophical...
[The entire page is 932 words long]
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