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Quincas Borba · Chapters XIII to XXVIII

The Inheritance and Rubião's Temptation

AmbitionDesireMoney and WealthLoyalty and Betrayal

Chapter XIII: Brás Cubas's Note, the Dog Dispatched

Section summary

After the news of the death spreads through town, the post office agent hands Rubião a note from Brás Cubas, which says that Quincas Borba died in his house, left many thanks, and that the rest would be done according to the usual legal procedures. The thanks make the teacher turn pale, but the legal procedures, which speak of inventory, restore his color. He then sends the Quincas Borba (dog) as a gift to godmother Angélica, asking that they treat it well.

Analysis

Rubião turns pale at the thanks because, read alone, they sound like the only payment for months of care; the "usual legal procedures" restore his color because they speak of inventory, that is, of property. With the doubt resolved in his favor, he sends the dog to godmother Angélica and asks only that it be treated well, "because he was used to that."

Chapter XIV: The Will and the Dog's Clause

Money and Wealth

Section summary

When the will is opened, Rubião learns that he is universal heir: everything passes to him, houses in the Court and in Barbacena, slaves, bonds, shares, jewels, and money, without bequeathing anything to anyone. There is only one condition: to keep the Quincas Borba (dog) with him, to treat it as the testator himself would and as a human person, and, when it dies, to bury it in land of its own covered with flowers and to keep its bones in a box of precious wood, in the most honored place in the house.

Analysis

The testator leaves nothing to anyone and sets a single burden: the dog, to be treated as he himself would be. The text gives the reason for the name, "the great affection he had for it," and the clause extends that affection to Rubião as an obligation. The teacher, who had dismissed the dog believing the duty over, discovers that the entire inheritance depends on him.

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Chapter XV: Rubião Dreams of the Inheritance

AmbitionMoney and Wealth

Section summary

Rubião finds the dog's clause "natural" but thinks only of the fortune: he reckons it at between one hundred and three hundred contos and feels like dancing in the street. He recalls the businesses that did not work out before and concludes that God helps him. He hesitates between staying in Barbacena, to shine before those who laughed at his friendship with the philosopher, and moving to Rio de Janeiro, with its theaters and pretty girls; he decides on Rio, from where he can return to his native town many times.

Analysis

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Chapter XVI: Fear of Having Lost the Dog

Section summary

Rubião enters the house, calls the dog, and only then remembers that he gave it to godmother Angélica. He runs to her house, afraid that the animal has run off or that an enemy, knowing of the clause in the will, will steal or kill it; he fears losing the inheritance if the clause is not fulfilled, and even promises ten masses to the saints. On arriving, he finds the godmother laughing at the door.

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Chapter XVII: The Reunion in the Pen

Section summary

Godmother Angélica thought the dog had been given to her. Rubião, pale, asks after it with feigned indifference, explains that he is merely its custodian, and promises her one of the animal's pups. In the pen, the Quincas Borba (dog), which has not eaten or drunk since it arrived, greets him with joy and frenzy, barking, jumping, and kissing his hands.

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Chapter XVIII: To the Victor, the Potatoes

Ambition

Section summary

Back at home, Rubião sits where he was when Quincas Borba (philosopher) told him of his grandmother's death, and, recalling his friend's voice, understands only now the allegory of the two starving tribes, which he had found obscure before. He looks at his worn canvas trousers and sees himself as a victor, no longer one of the exterminated bubbles: he will come down from Barbacena to eat the potatoes of the capital, hard and implacable. He likes the formula "To the victor, the potatoes!" so much that he thinks of a signet ring with that motto. The narrator remarks that Rubião understood the formula only after the will, because the landscape depends on the point of view.

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Chapter XIX: Mass for the Deceased

Section summary

Rubião has Mass said for his friend, though he knew or suspected that he was not Catholic, as a prayer for the living and to avoid scandal. Many attend and see his sincere contrition.

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Chapter XX: Toward Rio

Section summary

With the preliminaries of the inheritance settled in Barbacena, Rubião decides to go to Rio de Janeiro, where he intends to settle once everything is finished. There will be things to do in both cities, but matters promise to move quickly.

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Chapter XXI: On the Train, the Palhas

Money and WealthLoyalty and Betrayal

Section summary

On the train, Sofia and Cristiano Palha sit across from Rubião. They talk about slaves and Europe, and Palha's eyes shine when Rubião says he may go to Europe. Rubião tells of the inheritance, which he reckons at no less than three hundred contos; Palha no longer shines, reflects, and asks for discretion.

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Chapter XXII: Farewell at the Court Station

Section summary

Arriving at the Court station, after the train journey in which they met, Cristiano Palha and Rubião take leave of each other almost like intimates. Palha offers his house in Santa Teresa, but Rubião goes to the União Inn, and the two promise to visit each other.

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Chapter XXIII: Palha Arranges the Lawyer

Loyalty and Betrayal

Section summary

The next day, Cristiano Palha looks for Rubião at the inn first thing in the morning, to see whether he is well or prefers his house in Santa Teresa. Rubião declines the house but accepts the lawyer Palha suggests, a young relative of his, and goes with him to the office. Palha invites him to dinner in Santa Teresa.

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Chapter XXIV: First Dinner at Santa Teresa

Section summary

Embarrassed at not knowing how to behave with ladies, and especially before Sofia, Rubião recalls the promise he made himself to be strong and implacable, and goes to dinner in Santa Teresa. At home, dressed in cambric, Sofia shows more of her body than on the train, talks more, and lavishes courtesies as the lady of the house, and Rubião goes down the hill a little dizzy.

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Chapter XXV: Inventory and Accusation

Loyalty and Betrayal

Section summary

Rubião dines at Santa Teresa many times, shy and with a poorly guarded fire. Someone denounces the will for the dementia of Quincas Borba (philosopher); the accusation falls through, and Palha celebrates the end of the inventory.

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Chapter XXVI: Moving and Shopping with the Palhas

Section summary

Rubião moves into the Botafogo house, one of those he inherited, and it must be furnished; Cristiano Palha guides him through the shops and the auctions with his taste and his information. Sometimes Sofia goes along, saying there are things only a lady chooses well, and Rubião, grateful, lingers over the purchases, consulting without purpose and inventing needs, so as to have the young woman at his side longer.

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Chapter XXVII: Back in the Botafogo Parlor

Section summary

The account returns to the parlor of the Botafogo house, at the point where Rubião had been after coffee, tapping with the tassels of his dressing gown, while the memories of the past since the philosopher's death passed through his mind. He then recalls his daily duty, to release the Quincas Borba (dog); he rises and goes to the garden at the back of the house.

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Chapter XXVIII: Temptation and the Dog in the Garden

DesireLoyalty and Betrayal

Section summary

In the garden, on the way to release the dog, Rubião wrestles with temptation for Sofia: she is married, her husband, Cristiano Palha, is his friend and trusts him, but she seems to want him and presses his hand warmly, and he concludes that he cannot resist. Once released, the Quincas Borba (dog) greets its master, gets a slap, backs off, and returns when the master snaps his fingers; the narrator describes its life between caresses and abuse, including those of the Spanish servant, and says the dog likes to be loved and is content to believe that it is.

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