Unit of Brazilian currency in the Empire and the First Republic, written 1$000. The real, in the plural réis, was the unit of account: a thousand réis made one milreis, and a thousand milreis made one conto de réis, the measure of fortunes. In the novel, contos and milreis measure wages, rents, and the enrichment of João Romão.
Where It Appears
- Chapters I to II: João Romão's Tenement and Miranda's House
- Chapters III to V: The Tenement Wakes and Romão Hires Jerônimo
- Chapters VIII to IX: Jerônimo, Leocádia, and Florinda's Scandal
- Chapters XII to XIV: Marriage, the Rival Tenement, and the Plan of Revenge
- Chapters XV to XVII: Firmo's Death, Piedade's Fight, and the Fire
- Chapters XXI to XXIII: Bertoleza's End and Romão's Rise
Quotes
Os meus setenta mil-réis voltar-me-ão à gaveta. Tudo me fica em casa, My seventy milreis will return to my drawer. It all stays at home
Chapters III to V: The Tenement Wakes and Romão Hires Jerônimo, João Romão