Esau and Jacob (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- First Published: 1904
- Type of Plot: Magical Realism
- Time of Work: 1869-1894
- Setting: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Principal Characters: Ayres, Santos, Natividade, Pedro, Paulo, Baptista, Dona Claudia, Flora
- Genres: Long fiction, Magical Realism
- Subjects: Politics, Nineteenth century, Economics, Brazil or Brazilians, Human behavior
- Locales: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Novel
Esau and Jacob has 121 chapters and a brief preface. Some chapters are less than half a page in length, and none is more than six pages long. The novel is set primarily in the more fashionable neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro during the twenty-five-year era corresponding to the waning years of the Brazilian Empire and the beginning of the republic (1869-1894).
The preface states that the novel is the last of a seven-part manuscript written by the retired diplomat, Counselor Ayres, who thus serves as the author of the story. He is, however, also one of the...
[The entire page is 2146 words long]
