malcom betchelor - alvares de azevedo

8/22/2019 Malcom Betchelor - Alvares de Azevedo

1/9

lvares de Azevedo: A Transitional Figure in Brazilian LiteratureAuthor(s): C. Malcolm BatchelorSource: Hispania, Vol. 39, No. 2 (May, 1956), pp. 149-156Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and PortugueseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/334858 .Accessed: 24/03/2013 10:50

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve

and extend access toHispania.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 143.107.252.77 on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 10:50:28 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aatsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/334858?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/334858?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aatsp


2/9

ALVARESDE AZEVEDOA TRANSITIONAL FIGURE IN BRAZILIAN LITERATURE

C. MALCOLM BATCHELORYale University

The most complex representative ofthat group of romantic writers who havebeen described as Brazil's "lost genera-tion" is undoubtedly Manoel Ant6nioAlvares de Azevedo (1831-52). There isa freshness in his lyric poetry, a spon-taneity and sincerity which hold a con-tinuing appeal. Noite na taverna, hiscollection of fantastic, macabre stories,is unique in Brazilian literature, and forthat matter in the literature of the NewWorld. His play, Macdrio, a remarkablework in which the atmosphere of fantasyis comparable to that of Graga Aranha'sMalazarte, was written at least in partaccording to Azevedo's own theoriesabout the theater, which he conceivedas being ideally a combination of the"burning passions of Shakespeare, Mar-lowe and Otway, the imagination ofCalder6n de la Barca and Lope de Vega,and the simplicity of Aeschylus andEuripides."' Actually, in point of timeand originality Macdrio may very wellbe the earliest example of experimentaltheater in America. But more importantthan the uniqueness of Noite na tavernaand Macdrio is the fact that in both theseworks one finds a spirit which is a dis-tinct departure from romanticism, aWeltanschauung which is properly thatof the realist.

Azevedo, like Baudelaire, possessescharacteristics identifiable with roman-ticism, yet among these obvious manifes-tations one perceives clearly Azevedo'sreaction to the sentimentality, the ex-cessive idealism, optimism, and pessi-mism which mark certain phases of themovement. Lanson in his discussion ofBaudelaire mentions aspects of Lesfleurs du mal which are typical of what

the critic calls bas romantisme: preten-tious brutality, insistence upon themacabre, the immoral; but turning thento Baudelaire's awareness of death, soconstant and intense as to obscure anyother idea, he concludes that in thisrespect the poet is no longer a romantic.2For Lanson, then, Baudelaire is a figureof transition in whom one may observein process of formation the change frompassionate egoism to metaphysics, thebridge leading to realism. Similarly,beneath the aura of bas romantismewhich surrounds Noite na taverna andMacdrio, there is a brutal realism, aninterest in the clinical details of physicallove, violent death, and abnormal psy-chology, which sets Azevedo apart cer-tainly from the Lamartines and Shelleysamong his contemporaries, and evencarries him beyond Hoffmann, Tieck,Poe, Heine, and Byron. It is Azevedo'sinterest in the nature of reality, his searchfor truth and his belief that the theatershould be an honest representation of life,however, which definitely establish hisposition as a transitional figure in Bra-zilian literature.

Of course one should not minimize theinfluence of Byron, whose orgies andvices of legendary proportions held amorbid fascination for Brazilian adoles-cents, nor can one overlook the impor-tance of Hoffmann and Shakespeare inAzevedo's literary background. Hoff-mann's Serapionsbriider, in which thenarratives are told by several friends ofcontrasted personalities, whose adven-tures are interspersed by comments andconversation, may logically be con-sidered as having provided a model forthe framework of Noite na taverna. As

149

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/9

150 HISPANIAfor Shakespeare, Azevedo refers fre-quently to Hamlet, Othello, Desdemona,gravediggers, and skulls, in short to allthose details of which the romanticswere so fond. But trappings alone donot make the romantic. Just as the criticfinds elements of realism in Braziliannovels which are ostensibly romantic,in Azevedo's Noite na taverna one dis-covers that Byronian cynicism and per-version have shed their drawing-roommanners to become realistically func-tional.3 But these are merely the super-ficial aspects of Azevedo the realist,and would have little significance wereit not that they establish a trend whichleads from Azevedo to JUilio Ribeiro,Aluizio Azevedo, and at last to Cruz eSousa and JoSo do Rio, whose air ofcynicism and decadence are so reminis-cent of Oscar Wilde. In a broader sense,as I have stated, Alvares de Azevedoapproaches realism by virtue of hisphilosophic attitude toward life. Heseeks to refute romantic extremes ofoptimism and pessimism, and, since inhis search for truth, for the reality whichmust lie somewhere between idealismand scepticism, doubt is his inseparablecompanion, Azevedo sometimes givesthe impression of a man playing chesswith himself and attempting to outguesshis own next move.Contrary to what one might expectin a writer who suggests firsthandknowledge of bohemia and immorality,Azevedo's life was quite innocent ofdebauchery. His letters to his mothergive us an almost day-to-day accountof his life as a student in Sao Paulo, and,unless his letters were an ingenious fic-tion, we must conclude that the youngpoet led an extremely dull existence.Of S5o Paulo he wrote: ". . . A vidaaqui 6 um bocejar infinito. Nao hApasseios que entretenham, nem bailes,nem sociedades, parece isto uma cidadede mortos--nqo hA uma cara bonita najanela-s6 rugosas caras desdentadas.Passam-se dias e dias sem que eu saiade casa."4

At first Azevedo gave SAo Paulo itschance to alleviate his boredom. Hewent to dances and receptions, and visitedfriends of his family, but found little tointerest him. Of the visits he made Aze-vedo wrote:Sobre o capitulo relag&esminhasem Slo Paulo-tenho a dizer-1heque o dr. Pacheco veio visitar-me e que paguei-lhe a visita-mas ndo achei-oem casa. A dnica casa onde vou As v~zes 6a do dr. ClAudioque visitou-me e tem-me tra-tado muito bem-de um modo que me temencantado.-A outras casas nio tenho idomesmo porqueme ndoteem mandadoconvidar,o que nao lastimo pois tomara a mim queningubmme visite para poupar-me o trabalhode andar quebrandoos p6s pelas macias calga-das de Sgo Paulo-a fazer visitas... (VieiraSouto,p. 53)

The dances and the young ladies whoattended them were apparently evenmore tedious than his social calls: "Ir abailes para dansar com essas b6stasminhas patricias que s6 abrem a bocapara dizer asneiras acho que 6 tolice"(p. 66).Azevedo began to live more and moreby himself and within himself. "Todos osdias," he wrote to his mother, "tomoleite de manha bem cedo e dou um pe-queno passeio at6 as sete horas. Deent~o atW as nove horas ocupo eu otempo em rever a ligao do dia, pois demanha 6 a melhor hora para estudar-se."5Then off to the University to classeswhich one gathers were as odious as hissocial life (MacArio says to Satan:

"... sou um estudante. Vadio ou estu-dioso. . pouco importa. Duas palavrass6: amo o fumo e odeio o Direito Romano... [p. 138]), and after classes back to hisroom to read, to study and to write--most especially to write, for having foundSAo Paulo distasteful, he invented hisown private world of passion, vice, vio-lence, and death.Samuel Putnam, Os6rio de Oliveira,and Jamil Almansur Haddad are con-vinced that it was a fear of love which,becoming fear of life, explains Azevedo'sretreat within himself."His fear, it seems,began when at the age of four he suf-



4/9

ALVARES DE AZEVEDO 151fered a psychic trauma upon seeing hissmall brother lying dead. According tothis theory, Azevedo, unable to explainwhy, if it was true that babies whodie immediately become little angels,people should weep so over them, de-veloped a complex with respect to wo-men, so that instead of actually experienc-ing passion, he sought compensation inthe amorous adventures fashioned byhis imagination. Haddad expands thisidea: Azevedo's trauma, become anadolescent fixation, takes the form of asleeping woman who, changing to a deadwoman, is the object of a form of necro-philia. There is evidence in Azevedo'spoetry and in his prose works to supportthe theory: Putnam has translated asonnet which in his opinion is represent-ative of Azevedo's "favorite theme"(p. 118); the story told by Solfieri inNoite na taverna presents in detail adescription of the protagonist's abnormalpassion. To say, however, that necrophil-ism is Azevedo's "favorite theme" is anexaggeration, and if the psychoanalyst'scouch is to be an adjunct to literarycriticism, let us by all means apply thetheories of Freud and Jung to all ofAzevedo's apparent obsessions: murder,rape, the perfidious betrayal of friend-ship and hospitality, fratricide, andincest. We should also examine his manyreferences to the pleasures of tobaccoand of course to the release which alcoholaffords. But let us by no means confineourselves to Azevedo. Let us look for thebasic conflict in Machado de Assis' domes-tic life, which will demonstrate clearlythat his heroines are in general deviousand deceitful because subconsciouslyMachado resented and distrusted DonaCarolina. Let us search in Joao do Rio'ssubconscious for the key to his morbidinterest in the sadist, the voyeur, theprostitute. And having done so, whatshall we have proved? Very little of value,I think, to the critic in his work of inter-pretation and appreciation.Can we not ignore psychic traumasand regard Azevedo as a bored adoles-

cent whose vivid imagination, intoxi-cated with Hoffmann and Byron, pro-vided him with an infinitely moreinteresting dream world than WalterMitty's? It is within his dream world,moreover, and not in biographical data,that we may observe Azevedo at hisgame of chess, arguing through hischaracters first from one point of view,then from another, arguing each casewith conviction, presenting each argu-ment with seeming impartiality. Behindeach argument one feels the presence ofthe sceptical adolescent, sceptical be-cause he doubts. One notes also that inspite of scepticism and doubt Azevedo'smajor concern is the search for truth,and that far from reflecting the despairof his contemporaries with their Welt-schmerz and their Wille zur Krankheithe maintains a positive attitude towardlife.The discussions held by the charactersof Noite na tavernaand Macdrio embracea wide variety of topics: immortality ofthe soul, materialism, belief in God,romanticism, reality, atheism, pleasure,idealism, scepticism, libertinism, remorse,poetry, love, beauty, death, hope, doubt,boredom, glory, philosophy. In the open-ing scenes of Noite na taverna it is atoast proposed to tobacco, symbol ofthe vanity of idealism and immortality,which precipitates a vehement debatein which Solfieri, a materialist for whomreality is the "fever of the libertine,"attacks Archibald, the believer:

-Solfieri! 6s um insensato! o materialismo6 6rido como o deserto, e escuro como umtdmulo !A n6s frontes queimadaspelo mormagodo sol da vida, a n6s sobre cuja cabeia a velhiceregelou os cabelos, essas crengas frias? A n6sos sonhos do espiritualismo.-Archibald! deveras que 6 um sonho tudoisso! No outro tempo o sonho da minha cabe-ceira era o espirito puroajoelhado no seu mantoargenteo, num oceano de aromas e luzes!Ilus6es! a realidade 6 a febre do libertino, ataga na mdo, a lascivia nos libios, e a mulhersemi-nuarimula e palpitante sobre os joelhos.-Blasfdmia! e ndocris em mais nada? teucepticismo derribou t6das as estituas do teutemplo, mesmo a de Deus?



5/9

152 HISPANIA-Deus! crer em Deus!?...sim! como ogrito intimo o revela nas horas frias do medo,nas horas em que se tirita de susto e que amorte parece rogardmida por n6s! Na jangada

do n~ufrago, no cadafalso, no deserto, semprebanhado do suor frio do terror 6 que vem acrenga em Deus!ICrer ndle como a utopia dobemrnbsoluto, o sol da luz e do amor, muitobem. Mas, se entendeis por Mleos idolos que oshomens ergueram banhados de sangue, e ofanatismo beija em sua inanimaqo de mirmorede hA cinco mil anos ... n~o creio nole!-E os livros santos?-Mis6ria! quando me vierdes falar empoesia eu vos direi: at hA olhas inspiradas pelanatureza ardente daquela terra como nemHomero as sonhou, como a humanidade inteiraajoelhada sobre os tdmulos do passado maisnunca lembrari! Mas quando me falarem emverdades religiosas, em vis6es santas, nosdesvarios daquele povo estdpido, eu vos direi:mis6ria! misdria! trAs v~zes mis6ria! Tudoaquilo 6 falso: mentiram como as miragens dodeserto! (pp. 29-30)But as Solfieri concludes his denounce-ment of religion, a companion, censuringhis atheism, declares that science is false,that Epicureanism is the true phil-osophy; pleasure, he says, is man's

only true purpose on earth: "0 ateismo6 a insdnia.. . A verdadeira filosofia 6o epicurismo. Hume bem o disse: o fimdo homem 6 o prazer.. ." (p. 30).As Bertram is telling his story, he isinterrupted by the entrance of an oldman who, when asked, "Quem 6s?,"says he was once a poet; he fought underNapoleon at Waterloo, drank with Bo-cage, knelt at the tomb of Dante, wentto Greece to dream like Byron of theglories of the past; he was a poet attwenty, a libertine at thirty, and atforty a vagabond without a country,believing in nothing. He has kept twovivid memories of his past: the love of awoman who died in his arms on the firstnight of their love, and the agonizeddeath of a poet. He shows the assembledcompany a withered rose, a ribbon, anda skull. He asks one of them to guessfrom the skull who the man might havebeen:"A poet perhaps-or a madman.""Excellent!" cries the old man. "You

have guessed. Your only mistake was innot saying the two together. Seneca didso: poetry is madness..."Claudius Hermann who, although heregrets his lost innocence, refuses toweep for the past, is accused of being aromantic:... Sabeis-las ... essas minhas nuvens dopassado, leste-lo a farta o livro desbotado deminha exist~ncia libertina... O passado 6 oque foi, 6 a flor que murchou, o sol que seapagou, o cadAverque apodreceu. Ligrimas aAle?fora loucura! Que durma com suas lem-brangas negras! revivam, acordem apenas osmiosotis abertos naquele pintano! sobreagtienaquele nio-ser o efidvio de alguma lembrangapura!Bravo! Bravissimo! Claudius, estis com-pletamente bebado! bof6 que estAs romAntico!(p. 78)

As he goes on to describe the beautyof the woman he once loved, his descrip-tion is termed "romanticism":Visseis-la, como eu, ... as faces vivas, oolhar ardente entre o desd6m dos chlios...visseis-la bela na sua beleza pl~stica e harmO-nica, linda nas suas cores puras e assetina-das ... visseis-la assim, e, a f6, senhores, quenAohavieis rir de escArneocomo rides agora!Romantismo! deves estar muito 6brio,Claudius, para que nos teus dlbios secos deLovelace e na tua insensibilidade de D. Juanvenha a poesia ainda passar-te um beijo!(p. 79)When Claudius accuses his friends offailing to understand that even the mostcynical libertine may feel remorse, may

regret his innocent past, Bertram shouts"Poetry!" And here is Claudius' reac-tion: "Poesia! por que pronunciar-lho Avirgem casta o nome santo, como ummist6rio, no lodo escuro da taverna? Porque lembra-la Aestr6la do amor a luz dolampeao da crapula? Poesia! sabeis oque 6 a poesia?" (p. 80).Bertram, a materialist and a cyniclike Solfieri, gives his definition: "Meiocento de palavras sonoras e vis que umpugilo de homens palidos entende, umaescada de sons e harmonias que aquelasalmas loucas parecem ideias e lhes desper-



6/9

ALVARES DE AZEVEDO 153tam ilusaes como a lua as sombras..."(p. 80).Claudius, disgusted and thoroughlyangry, says: "Sil6ncio, Bertram!...A poesia, eu to direi tamb~m por minhavez, 6 o v6o das aves da manhAno banhomorno das nuvens vermelhas da madru-gada, 6 o cervo que se rola no orvalho damontanha relvosa que se esquece damorte de amanhA, da agonia de ontem,em seu leito de flores!" (p. 80).Which idea of poetry is Azevedo's?Does he believe with Seneca that poetryis madness? Does he agree with Bertramthat poetry is "half a hundred vainand high-sounding words which a hand-ful of pallid men understand; a scale ofsounds and harmonies which to thosemad souls seem to be ideas and awakenillusions in them as the moon awakensshadows"? Does he believe with Claudiusthat poetry is "the flight of birds inthe morning through the warm bath ofdawn's red clouds.., .the fawn rollingin the dew of the grassy mountain,forgetful of death on some tomorrow,forgetful of yesterday's agony, mindfulonly of its bed of flowers"? Or is it reallyAzevedo who ends the discussion, sayingin effect that poetry, along with loveand glory, is an illusion? "Basta, Claud-ius, que isso que ai dizes ninguem o en-tende: sio palavras, palavras e palavras,como o disse o Hamleto; e tudo isso 6inanido e vazio como uma caveira seca,mentiroso como os vapores infectos daterra que o sol no creptisculo irisa de milcores e que se chamam as nuvens, ouessa fada zombadora e nevoenta que sechama a poesia!" (pp. 80-81).Azevedo's complex and often para-doxical ideas concerning poetry are to beexpected in an adolescent genius. He isattracted by the freshness and sincerityof Claudius' kind of poetry and repelledby its sentimentality, its "romanticism."In addition he feels obliged to justifypoets whose verses record unpleasantphases of reality, sordid aspects of lifewhich, presented in verse, become Aze-

vedo's "poetry of scepticism." There isevidence here, certainly, of transition, of areaction to romanticism which is leadingthe poet toward realism.In the "Segundo Epis6dio" of Macdriothe protagonist, whose views (presum-ably Azevedo's) range alternately froma pessimism approaching defeatism tothe philosopher's attitude that life,with all its ugliness, is still worth puttingup with, argues with Penseroso, the ideal-ist, the romantic who believes with theoptimism of a Leibnitz that the world isgood. Their discussion arises over a bookof poetry (we are intended to assumethat the poetry in it is Macario's) towhich Penseroso objects because of itsscepticism. Macario's defense is as fol-lows:E o cepticismo nio tem a sua poesia?... Oque 6 a poesia, Penseroso? Ndo 6 por venturaessa comogio intima de nossa alma com tudoque nos move as fibrasmais intimas, corntudoque 6 belo e doloroso? .. . A poesia serA 6 a luzda manhAcintilando na areia, no orvalho, nasAguas, nas flores, levantando-se virgem sobreumleito de nuvens de amore de esperanga?...A natureza 6 um concerto cuja harmonia s6Deus entende, porque s6 ~le ouve a mdsica quetodos os peitos exalam. S6 ~1ecombina o cantodo corvo e o trinar do pintassilgo, as nenias dorouxinol e o uivar da fera noturna, o canto deamor da virgem na noite do noivado e o cantode morte que na casa junta arquejana gargantade um moribundo . . . (p. 189)

Earlier in the work Azevedo has ridi-culed romantic poets. During their firstdiscussion Satan asks Macario whetherhe is a poet, because, Satan says. .. v6s contempliveis a tarde que caia. Alm,nesse horizonte, o mar como uma linha azulorlada de escuma e de areia... e no vale, comobando de gaivotas brancas sentadas num padl,a cidade que algumas horas antes tinheisdeixado. Dai vossos olhares se recolhiam aosarvoredos que vos rodeavam, ao precipiciocheio das flores azuladas e vermelhas dastrepadeiras, Astorrentes que mugiam no fundodo abismo, e defronte vieis aquela cachoeiraimensa que espedaga suas Aguas amareladas,numa chuva de escuma, nos rochedos negros doseu leito. E olhiveis tudo isso com um ar per-feitamente romAntico... (pp. 133-134)



7/9

154 HISPANIAMacArioreplies that Satan is mistaken.He was permitting his mule to rest, andfor his own amusement was droppingstones over the edge of the cliff, countingthe number of times they bounced.Later in their conversation, when Satanhas lent Macario pipe and tobacco, andthe two of them sit comfortably smoking,Macario, speaking of his likes and dis-likes, says: "Amo as mulheres e odeio oromantismo... Gosto mais de uma gar-rafa de vinho que de um poema; maisde um beijo que do soneto mais harmo-nioso. Quanto ao canto dos passarinhos,ao luar sonolento, as noites limpidas,acho isso sumamente insipido..." Satanasks: "E a poesia?" Macario answers:"Enquanto era a moeda de ouro quecorria s6 pela mao do rico, ia muito bem.Hoje trocou-se em moeda de cobre;nao ha mendigo, nem caixeiro de tavernaque ngo tenha esse vint6m azinhavrado." (pp. 138-139).Farther on Macario declares that "thesea is a sovereignly insipid thing... ,"

that "seasickness is the epitome of allthat is prosaic." "I am one of those," hesays, "of whom Byron's corsair speaks,'whose soul would sicken o'er the heavingwave'." (p. 140). This Byronian cynicism,together with various satirical referencesto romanticism, would seem to indicatea definite preference, yet elsewhere onesees Azevedo, as Ronald de Carvalhoputs it, "struggling in the claws of athousand diverse influences":Ossian-o bardo, 6 triste como a sombraue seus cantos povoa. O Lamartinemon6tono e belo como a noite,Como a lua no mar e o som das ondas ...Que pranteiam eternas monodias.Tem na lira do genio uma s6 corda.-Fibra de amor e Deus que um sopro agita!Se desmaia por Deus. . a Deus se volta,Se pranteia por Deus ... de amor suspira.Basta de Shakespeare. Vem tu agora,Fantistico alemio, poeta ardente,Que ilumina o clario das gotas pAlidasDo nobre Johannisberg! Nos teus romancesMeu corag-o deleita-se. . . Contudo,Parece-me que you perdendo o g6sto,Vou ficando blast: passeio os diasPelo meu corredor, sem companheiro,Sem ler, nem poetar . . . Vivo fumando.7

Having rejected Lamartine and Shake-speare, Azevedo turns to Heine, but im-mediately casts him aside and lights acigar.Although Azevedo vacillates in thematter of poetic themes, he has definiteopinions concerning meter and rhymes.The Divine Comedy lies at his bedside,8yet in his preface to Macdrio he says:"...E dificil encerrar a torrente defogo dos anjos decaidos de Milton ou opdntano de sangue e ligrimas do Alighieridentro do pentAmetro de marmore datrag6dia antiga.. ." (p. 122). And as Ihave mentioned earlier, Azevedo in thissame preface has said that in a tropicalsoul passion, despair, and jealousy can-not be expressed in Alexandrines. Ofrhymes Azevedo says in his Poema doFrade:Frouxo o verso, talvez, p$lida a rimaPor 6stes meus delirios cambeteia,Por~m odeio o p6 que deixa a limaE o tedioso emendar que gela a veia!Quanto a mim.. . 6 o fogo quem animaDe uma estAncia o calor; quando formei-aSe a estitua nio saiu como pretendo,Quebro-a, mas nunca seu metal emendo.g

Here, then, is a poet who despite acertain lack of decision in his thematicpreferences (understandable in a transi-tional figure) has concepts of prosodywhich are original and advanced, con-cepts, moreover, which distinguish himfrom his contemporaries and foreshadowthose of the modernistas.I have suggested that in Macdrioone may best observe Azevedo's reactionto romanticism (particularly to romanticpoetry) and his tendencies in the direc-tion of realism. As one reads the work,Azevedo's convictions become increas-ingly apparent. When Satan asks Maca-rio whether he has ever loved, his answeris:Sim e nAo. Sempre e nunca... Se chamas oamor a troca de duas temperaturas, o aperto dedois sexos, a convulsaode dois peitos que arque-jam, o beijo de duas bocas que tremem, de duasvidas que se fundem .. .tenho amado muito esempre1... Se chamas o amor o sentimentocasto e puro que faz cismar o pensativo, que



8/9

ALVARESDE AZEVEDO 155faz chorar o amante na relva onde passou abeleza, que adivinha o perfume dela na brisa,que pergunta As aves, A manhil, a noite, Asharmonias de mdsica, que melodia mais doceque sua voz; e ao seu coragao, que formosuramais divina que a dela... eu nunca amei.Ainda ndo achei uma mulher assim ... (p. 142)Azevedo has brought together here theextremes of idealism and cynicism, ofromanticism and realism. Macario isready to accept the existence of ideallove, but not having found the womanwho will fulfill his exacting requirements,he states regretfully that he has neverloved. He is sceptical, to be sure, buteven so he does not rule out the possi-bility of finding one day the ideal woman.Satan asks, "E esperas essa mulher?"And Macirio answers, "Quem sabe?"(p.144).In MacArio's reply to Penseroso'splea for belief in hope, in his dream ofAmerica and the future of Brazil wefind a good example of Azevedo's con-cept of reality. Penseroso, who servedpreviously as a means of satirizing theideal of the "noble savage": ".. . Tudodorme. A aldeia repousa. S6 al~m, juntodas fogueiras os homens da montanha edo vale conservam suas saudades. Maislonge a toada mon6tona da viola se mis-tura A cantilena do sertanejo, ou aosimprovisos do poeta singelo da floresta,alma ignorante e pura que s6 sabe dasemogoes do sentimento, e dos cantos queihe inspira a natureza virgem.. ." (pp.176-177) now, in what amounts to aparody of all dreams of progress, hope,and Utopias, says:... Esperangas! e esse descrido noo palpita deentusiasmo no rodar do carro do s6culo, nosalaridos do progresso, nos hosanas do indus-trialismo laurifero? NMosente 41eque tudo semove, que o s6culo se emancipa e a cruzada dofuturo se recruta? ... e esse Americano niosente que 41e 6 o filho de uma naqgo nova,nio a sente o maldito cheia de sangue, democidade e verdor? N o se lembra que seusarvoredos gigantescos, seus oceanos escumosos,os seus rios, suas cataratas, que tudo 1I 4grande e sublime? ...Nfio sentiu b1e queaquela sua nag8o infante que se embala noshinos da inddistriaeuropeia. .. tem umnuturoimenso?... (pp. 190-193)

Macario's convictions about such no-tions are firm. He says to Penseroso:. . . Falas em esperangas. Que eternas espe-rangas que nada parem! O mundoest4 de espe-rangas desde a primeirasemana da criago ...e o que tem havido de novo? Se Deus soubessedo que havia de acontecer, ndo se cansara emafogar homens na igua do dildvio, nem man-dar crucificar, macilenta e ensanguentada, aimagem de seu Cristo divino ... Falais nainddstria, no progresso? As mdquinas siomuito iteis, concordo. Fazem-se mais palhcioshoje, vendem-semais pinturas e mArmores,masa arte degenerou em oficio e o g~nio suicidou-se ... Enquanto nio se inventar o meio de termocidade eterna, de poder amar cem mulheresnuma noite, de viver de mdsica e perfumes, ede saber-se a palavraugica que farArecuardas salas do banquete universal o espectro damorte.. . antes disso pouco tereis adiantado. .(pp. 193-194)His diatribe includes those writers whofrom the safety and comfort of theirarmchairs extol Nature and the Aborig-ine:Falam nos gemidos da noite no sertio, nastradig9es das ragas perdidas da floresta, nastorrentes das serranias, como se 1Ativessemdormido ao menos uma noite . .. Mentidos!Tudo isso lhes veio a mente lendo as piginasde algum viajante que esqueceu-se talvez decontar que nos mangues e nas 4guas do Ama-zonas e do Orenocoh4 mais mosquitos e sezbesdo que inspiragqo; que na floresta hi insetosrepulsivos, reptis imundos; que a pele furta-c6r do tigre nio tem o perfume das flores...que tudo isto 6 sublime nos livros, mas esoberanamente desagradivel na realidade!. (pp. 194-195)

It is true that earlier Macario, yieldingto doubt, has declared: "Quem sabe ondeest' a verdade? nos sonhos do poeta,nas visoes do monge, nas canges obcenasdo marinheiro, na cabega do doudo, napalidez do cadaver, ou no vinho ardenteda orgia? Quem sabe?" (p. 160). Butnow he is sure of himself. PreviouslyMacario permitted doubt and despairto lead him to suicide, an act preventedonly by his fainting before his intentioncould be realized. Now, although hecontinues to doubt, alternately believingand disbelieving, he is ready to acceptthe world, poor thing though it be. Pen-seroso, the dreamer, the romantic ideal-



9/9

156 HISPANIAist, rejected by his beloved, writes aletter of farewell to the world which hehas defended so warmly and kills himself.Mac6rio, the pessimist, the individualist(over whom even Satan, one feels, willnot gain control), protected as he is fromlife by his cynical concept of reality,is destined to survive. Life with all itsrepellent aspects has not ceased toattract him and rouse his curiosity.The last scene of Macdrio, which initself is a brief moment of dramaticinspiration, represents a street whereMacario and Satan appear arm in arm:SATX.Estas brio? Cambaleias.MACXRIO. nde me levas?SATX.A uma orgia. Vais ler uma pdgina davida; cheia de sangue e de vinho-queimporta?MACXRIO. Eaqui, nio? Ougo vociferar a satur-nal 1 dentro.SATX.Paremos aqui. Espia nessa janela.MACARIO.u vejo-os. E uma sala fumacenta.A roda da mesa estdo sentados cinco homens6brios. Os mais revolvem-se no chio. Dormemall mulheres desgrenhadas, umas lividas,outras vermelhas ... Que noite!SATX.Que vida! ndo 6 assim? Pois bemIescuta,Macgrio. HAhomens para quem essa vida 6mais suave que a outra. O vinho 6 como6pio, 6 o Letes do esquecimento... Aembriaguez 6 como a morte . .MACARIo. ala-te. Ougamos.

"Be still. Let us listen." These are notthe words of a man who is disillusioned,who in his despair has lost interest inlife. At the end of the first scene of theplay, as Macario rides off with Satan,bound for the city where he expects tofind pleasure, Satan assures him that hewill find only monotony and tedium,but as the play closes Macario is stillan interested observer of life. What hesees through the window fascinates him.lie wants to hear what is going on.Wille zur Krankheit? Weltschmerz?Doubt, as Putnam has said, "of theworthwhileness of life itself"? No. Ido not agree. I believe Azevedo wassincere when he said in his preface tolfacdrio: "A vida e s6 a vida! mas avida tumultuosa, fbrvida, anhelante, aisv~zes sangrenta--eis o drama..." It isthus Azevedo's declared intention to

present life as it is. The world as hepaints it for us is a heterogeneous com-plexity of good and evil, of pleasure andpain in which his protagonist survivesonly by virtue of his own complexity.MacArio's approach to life is realistic.His attitude is a positive one, not thenegative attitude one associates with theromantics, and, if I may be permittedthe assumption, Macario is Azevedo.

NOTES1Noite na taverna-Macdrio. Ed. EdgardCavalheiro (Sdo Paulo, 1941), p. 121.2Gustave Lanson, Histoire de la litteraturefrangaise (Paris, 1912), p. 1060.8In its new surroundingsromanticism acquiredaspects of realism which Samuel Putnam at-tributes to climate and geography, but mostparticularly to the fact that Brazilian writerscould neither escape nor ignore the reality ofjungle and prairie, and hesitated therefore inchoosing between the primitive and the Euro-pean. Often their failure to make a definitechoice shows up in their work, which, since it isthus no longer purely romantic nor purelyrealistic, tends to frustrate the "literaryhistorian with his more or less rigid schemesof classification." See Putnam, MarvelousJourney (NewYork, 1948,pp. 152-153).Azevedohimself, aware that in America Europeanconcepts must inevitably undergo a change,says in his preface to Macdrio: ". . . As agoniasda paixio, do desespero e do ciume ardentequando coam num sangue tropical ndo sederretem em alexandrinos, nio se modulamnas falas banais dessa poesia de convengioque se chama-conveni~ncias dramiticas ..."op. cit., p. 126.4Luiz Felippe Vieira Souto, "Dous RomAn-ticos Brasileiros" in Revista do InstitutoHist6rico e Geogrdphico Brasileiro (Rio deJaneiro, 1931), p. 70. Quoted by Edgard Caval-heiro in his introduction, op. cit., p. 9.6 Cavalheiro, p. 11.6Putnam, pp. 117-118;Jos6 Os6riode Oliveira,Hist6ria Breveda LiteraturaBrasileira (Lisbon,1939), pp. 46-47; Jamil Almansur Haddad,"A Hist6ria Visivel e a Hist6ria SubterrAneadoRomantismo Paulista," in Planalto (15 dejaneiro, 1942), pp. 21-22.1Poesias completas (Rio de Janeiro, 1943), I,113.8Cavalheiro quotes the following in his in-troduction:Junto do leito meus poetas dormem

-O Dante, a Biblia, Shakespeare e Byron,Na mesa confundidos ...op. cit., introd., p. 11. See Poesias completas,I,120.OPoesias completas,iu. 52.

This content downloaded from 143 107 252 77 on Sun 24 Mar 2013 10:50:28 AM
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

malcom betchelor - alvares de azevedo

Documents