TRAGEDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE TALE OF MACHADO DE ASSIS

Abstract

In this essay, we read Machado de Assis’s O Caso da Vara not only as an ironic carefully structured story of inner conflicts versus external actions, but also as a potential dramatic play, sharing characteristics with classical tragedy. The actual deeds of the characters are overcome by the stream of their thoughts, fears, cruelties and dramas, leading the narrative towards an enigmatic end, postponed until the very last moment. As in classical tragedy, in O Caso da Vara we notice Machado de Assis’s predilection for universal situations that reveal the tragic and comic side of human behaviour. Therefore, an apparent very-short-story is charged with a moral meaning that appeals to the reader’s responsibility and reflects about the great
intentions and even greater fears of humankind.