The reader or the audience knows something the character ignores, and so the character's words and deeds take on a meaning that he himself does not perceive.
In Quincas Borba
Well, don't pay, and see if you don't end up owing even more
Rubião jokingly says "don't pay," letting off someone who owes him a great deal; the reader has already seen Palha satisfied at ridding himself of his partner and loaded with debts, and the joke favors precisely the one who profits most from it.
Chapters CXIX to CXXXII: Marriage, Rupture, and the Offended Major, Rubião
answering him in Portuguese, he thought he was speaking French
Chapters CXXXIII to CXLVII: Dinner Guests, Tijuca, and the Imperial Beard, the narrator
A good cabinet, made up entirely of friendly, strong people, capable of giving their lives for me.
Chapters CLX to CLXXI: Sofia Draws Back, Rubião Raves, Rubião
Keep my crown
Chapters CLXXXII to CCI: Madness, Abandonment, and Rubião's Death, Rubião
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