Clavis Libri
Plans Sign in

Quincas Borba · Chapters LXXVII to LXXXIX

Dreamed-of marriage and Praia Formosa

Appearance and RealityDesireMoney and WealthMadness

Chapter LXXVII: The Fiancé Sofia Does Not Name

Desire

Section summary

Seeing his cousin reading the newspapers early, Sofia asks Maria Benedita why she does not waltz, and she says she does not like a man pressing her body in front of others; asked afterward whether it is true that she wants to go home, she says she cannot live without her mother. Sofia promises a fiancé, who is in truth Rubião, for Cristiano Palha wants to marry his partner to the cousin, but she cannot bring herself to say the name, and the narrator attributes this to a jealousy of someone who will not yield what he does not want to possess. Maria Benedita, believing the fiancé is Carlos Maria, fills with hope.

Analysis

Maria Benedita says she does not like to waltz and wants to return to the countryside, and the text suggests the reason lies in seeing Carlos Maria waltz with her cousin. When Sofia promises a fiancé, the girl "changed her face" and understands the fiancé to be him. Sofia promises because Palha wants to marry his partner to the cousin, but she chokes on the name, and the young woman's hope is left without foundation.

Sofia could not bring herself to say Rubião's name
Unlock with a subscription

Subscription

The complete analysis of every section of Quincas Borba comes with a subscription, along with the explanation of each quote, the quiz, the PDF guide, and the study workbook.

See the plansAlready subscribed? Sign in

Chapter LXXVIII: The Major and the Advice to Marry

Section summary

The day after the ball, Rubião goes three times to Rua dos Inválidos to question Carlos Maria, whom he suspects as a rival for Sofia; he does not find him and changes his mind. Days later, Major Siqueira, who has moved to Rua Dois de Dezembro, pays him a visit, praises the house, its furnishings, and its luxury, and says that he lacks a wife: "Marry, and say I talked you into it." Rubião recalls the night at Santa Teresa and feels a chill down his back, but the major speaks without sarcasm and without interest, while Dona Tônica, his daughter, turns forty, unmarried.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXIX: The Voice That Asks

Madness

Section summary

After Major Siqueira leaves, a voice asks whether he should not indeed marry. Rubião sees only the Quincas Borba (the dog). He finds it absurd that the question should come from the dog, or from the spirit of Quincas Borba (the philosopher) in the animal's body; he smiles with disdain and, just in case, scratches its nape.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXX: Legs, Unity, and Readings

Section summary

An inner voice repeats "And why not?" concerning the major's advice that he marry, and Rubião reasons that by marrying he would kill the passion that eats at him little by little, without hope or consolation, and would restore to his life the unity he had lost with the change of milieu and fortune. He notices that his legs followed the major into the street without his noticing, leaving to his head only the task of thinking. To fill his empty days, he goes to the jury trials, to the Chamber, and to the theaters, and he reads the novels of Dumas père and Feuillet, of aristocratic society.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXI: The Pomp of Marriage

Section summary

Before taking care of the bride, Rubião imagines the pomp of the wedding: old and rich coaches, like the emperor's, which he liked to watch arrive at the palace, a coupé lined with a rare fabric, guests of the first rank, the internuncio to marry them, a waltz of twenty couples, and a supper with Bohemian crystal and servants with his initials on their collars.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXII: Brides of Title with Sofia's Face

Appearance and RealityDesire

Section summary

In his dreams, Rubião marries only titled women from the Laemmert almanac, and all the brides end up with the face of Sofia. He even thinks of the death of Sofia's husband. Quincas Borba (the dog) repeats the advice.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXIII: Palha's Hunch

Section summary

Cristiano Palha is in mourning for Sofia's aunt, Dona Maria Augusta, mother of Maria Benedita, who died on the farm, and he tells of the young woman's grief. He praises her to Rubião as a paragon of breeding, accomplishments, and housekeeping, and says that she will now stay with them. Then he says he has a hunch: that Rubião is the one who will marry her. Rubião is startled and refuses, softening it with "for now"; Palha proposes that they let time take its course, and Rubião takes his leave.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXIV: Two Hypotheses About Sofia

Section summary

Rubião leaves thinking that Sofia wants to marry him off, which would be the quickest way to get rid of him, making him a cousin of hers. After a good deal of walking, another hypothesis comes to him: Sofia lied to her husband, telling him she had spoken to her about marriage, so as not to advance the project, and in that case her feeling was different. This explanation seems logical to him, and his soul returns to its earlier serenity.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXV: A Visit to Freitas and the Banknotes

Section summary

Bored, with nothing to do until it is time to go to Flamengo, Rubião remembers that Freitas, who is ill, lives on Praia Formosa, and goes to visit him by Tilbury. He talks with the sick man for almost two hours; on leaving, seeing the sick man's mother bite her lip, he says that need afflicts but does not shame, and he leaves six notes of twenty milreis in her hand, going out before she can thank him.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXVI: The Walk to Saúde

Section summary

In the Tilbury, after leaving the money, Rubião feels the advantage of not being an invalid, and when he sees Praia Formosa, he gets down and tells the coachman to go slowly. Drawn by the armfuls of weeds sprouting from the mud, he walks through Saco do Alferes, Gamboa, and Saúde, and the sight of the old, cracked houses gives him a nostalgia for rags and for a scant life without shame. The feeling does not last long, because he soon thinks how good it is not to be poor.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXVII: The Woman from Saúde

Desire

Section summary

Rubião crosses a poor young woman and a little boy and thinks of women he could choose to marry. He even thinks of the major's daughter, but he hears the guitar of sin, played by the fingers of Sofia, and loses the chastity of his plan.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXVIII: One Note Too Many

Section summary

The sight of the Tilbury reminds Rubião of Freitas. He approves of the money he gave, but the idea of having given one or two notes more crosses his mind, and Rubião, angry with himself, shakes it off.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Chapter LXXXIX: The Coachman and the Young Man from Rua dos Inválidos

Section summary

The coachman supposes that Rubião went to a romantic appointment and tells of a young man from Rua dos Inválidos, with a mustache and big eyes, who entered a house on Rua da Harmonia, where a lady in a veil arrived later, alone.

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription

Reading of the block of chapters

Analysis

Unlock with a subscription