The Cynosure of All Eyes E-Book

Machado de Assis

• Herausgeber: SAMPI Books
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 17

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Narrated in the form of a dialogue, the character "Counselor" tells a friend about his platonic passion for Quintília, the most coveted single woman in the city of Rio de Janeiro, who suffered from a terrible aversion to marriage. The friendship between the couple, which arose after a bet between the Counselor and his work colleague João Nóbrega, fuels the protagonist's illusory hopes of declaring his love for the girl and, ultimately, marrying her. In this short story, Machado de Assis ironizes the institution of marriage, playing with the power of passion and desire.

Leseprobe

The Cynosure of All Eyes

Machado de Assis

SYNOPSIS

Narrated in the form of a dialogue, the character “Counselor” tells a friend about his platonic passion for Quintília, the most coveted single woman in the city of Rio de Janeiro, who suffered from a terrible aversion to marriage. The friendship between the couple, which arose after a bet between the Counselor and his work colleague João Nóbrega, fuels the protagonist's illusory hopes of declaring his love for the girl and, ultimately, marrying her. In this short story, Machado de Assis ironizes the institution of marriage, playing with the power of passion and desire.

Keywords

Passion, Vanity, Irony

NOTICE

This text is a work in the public domain and reflects the norms, values and perspectives of its time. Some readers may find parts of this content offensive or disturbing, given the evolution in social norms and in our collective understanding of issues of equality, human rights and mutual respect. We ask readers to approach this material with an understanding of the historical era in which it was written, recognizing that it may contain language, ideas or descriptions that are incompatible with today's ethical and moral standards.

Names from foreign languages will be preserved in their original form, with no translation.

The Cynosure of All Eyes

"Ah! Counselor, now you're starting to speak in verse."

"All men must have a lyre in their hearts, or they are not men. Let the lyre resound at all times, not for any reason, I do not say, but from time to time, and for some particular reminiscences... Do you know why I seem like a poet to you, despite the Ordinances of the Kingdom and my gray hair? It is because we are going forward this Glória ahead, skirting the Foreign Office here... There is the famous hill... Ahead there is a house..."

"Let's keep going."