65 pages • 2 hours read
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Transl. Gregory RabassaThe Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1881A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 130-160Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 130 Summary: “To Be Inserted in Chapter CXXIX”
This chapter is meant to be inserted between the first and second sentences of Chapter 129. Brás reminisces about his initial post-presidency talk while dancing with Virgília at a ball.
Chapter 131 Summary: “Concerning a Calumny”
Following his conversation with Virgília at the ball, an old friend jokingly teases Brás about his involvement with her. Brás acknowledges the exchange as an indiscretion, reflecting on the misconception about women being indiscreet in love affairs. He argues that women are discreet, concealing their emotions and intentions, while men often boast about theirs.
Chapter 132 Summary: “Which Isn’t Serious”
Brás refers to a common saying that mirrors his thoughts on men’s tendency to boast. He notes that this chapter is not to be taken seriously.
Chapter 133 Summary: “Helvetius’s Principle”
Brás acknowledges a search for self-importance as the motive behind his choice of divulging his involvement with Virgília to a friend at a ball.
Chapter 134 Summary: “Fifty Years Old”
Brás feels immediately saddened after disclosing his affair with Virgília to his friend at the ball. Later, amidst the dance and chatter, he momentarily regains a sense of youth. Upon leaving the ball at 4:00 am, he feels exhausted and yearns for rest.
Chapter 135 Summary: “Oblivion”
Brás reflects on aging and the fading of love’s significance as one grows older. He reflects on the inevitability of being forgotten and contemplates the natural course of change in life, acknowledging that being forgotten is everyone’s universal fate.
Chapter 136 Summary: “Uselessness”
The narrator determines that this chapter serves no purpose.
Chapter 137 Summary: “The Shako”
Following advice from Quincas Borba, Brás decides to engage more fiercely in public speaking in his career and make a memorable speech. He contributes to a parliamentary debate by proposing a reduction in the size of military hats. Despite earning praise for his eloquence, his political position garners negative reactions. Quincas, although not politically involved, praises his efforts.
Chapter 138 Summary: “To a Critic”
The narrator clarifies that his writing style reflects the varying sensations he experiences as he narrates the events in his life.
Chapter 139 Summary: “How I Didn’t Get to Be a Minister of State”
This chapter is composed entirely of ellipses.
Chapter 140 Summary: “Which Explains the Previous One”
Brás loses his seat in the Chamber of Deputies, marking the end of his political career. Quincas, citing humanitism, implies that his colleague’s ambition was superficial compared to the determination of true leaders throughout history. Brás dismisses this, feeling unfulfilled despite having a life of luxury and comfort.
Chapter 141 Summary: “Dogs”
Brás, feeling disheartened, confides in Quincas, who proposes a walk to alleviate his feelings. Quincas recommends that he start a newspaper. During their stroll, they witness a dog fight. Quincas, finding beauty in the conflict, draws parallels between the dogs’ struggle over a bare bone and human existence. Mesmerized, he stays in place until the fight concludes.
Chapter 142 Summary: “The Secret Request”
Brás receives a letter signed by Virgília asking him to aid Dona Plácida due to her poor health. Not recognizing the handwriting, he doubts its authenticity. Meanwhile, Quincas continues his philosophical reflections.
Chapter 143 Summary: “I’m Not Going”
Brás feels vexed, believing the substantial sum of money he had previously given Dona was sufficient to help. He speculates that perhaps she had already spent the money, making him hesitant to fulfill the request.
Chapter 144 Summary: “Relative Usefulness”
Brás responds to Virgília’s request and provides financial help to Dona, organizing her transfer to a hospital, where she passes away the next day. Contemplating her life, he reflects on her importance in facilitating his affair with Virgília.
Chapter 145 Summary: “A Simple Repetition”
Brás finds out that a man had married Dona and fled with her savings. He sees their conflict as parallel to the dogfight he had observed.
Chapter 146 Summary: “The Prospectus”
Brás feels the urgency to start his newspaper and drafts a political application of Quincas’s humanitism. The project advocates for liberty and promises to reform society by dissolving the existing ministry. Touched by Brás’s dedication to his philosophy, Quincas praises his work.
Chapter 147 Summary: “Madness”
Brás declares his plan to launch a newspaper opposing the government. Both Cotrim and Sabina caution him, emphasizing the potential harm to his parliamentary prospects and urging him to reconsider. Despite their advice, Brás stands by his decision, explaining his goal to challenge and overthrow the current ministry.
Chapter 148 Summary: “The Unsolvable Problem”
Brás publishes his newspaper. Unexpectedly, Cotrim releases a statement dissociating himself from his brother-in-law’s political views, praising the current ministry, and disapproving of his actions. Brás grapples with understanding Cotrim’s puzzling and poorly timed declaration, especially considering their amicable relationship and the past favors he had done for Cotrim.Brás publishes his newspaper. Unexpectedly, Cotrim releases a statement dissociating himself from his brother-in-law’s political views, praising the current ministry, and disapproving of his actions. Brás grapples with understanding Cotrim’s puzzling and poorly timed declaration, especially considering their amicable relationship and the past favors he had done for Cotrim.
Chapter 149 Summary: “The Theory of Benefits”
Brás feels puzzled by Cotrim’s public disapproval despite favors he has extended to his brother-in-law. Quincas dismisses the ingratitude, asserting that Cotrim underestimates the significance of Brás’s past favors, believing that once a need is fulfilled, it fades from one’s memory.
Chapter 150 Summary: “Rotation and Translation”
Brás’s newspaper is short-lived. Lobo Neves is rumored to become a minister, which stirs the protagonist’s envy. However, Brás is relieved when news of his death breaks. At the funeral, Virgília’s genuine grief perturbs Brás. After the funeral, he experiences a sense of unease and discomfort.
Chapter 151 Summary: “The Philosophy of Epitaphs”
Brás moves away from the mourners at Lobo’s funeral and pretends to read epitaphs. He admires epitaphs, as they enable individuals to retain a fragment of those who have passed on.
Chapter 152 Summary: “Vespasian’s Coin”
Leaving the cemetery alone, Brás reflects on the funeral and Virgília’s heartfelt cries, struggling to reconcile the sincerity of their affair and her grief for her husband. He later admits that this contradiction might not be as perplexing as he first believed, considering that pain is impartial to morals.
Chapter 153 Summary: “The Alienist”
In a conversation about societal contrasts, Quincas suggests that Brás is “mad” and sends for an alienist the next day. The alienist reassures Brás of his sanity but leaves cryptic remarks about Quincas.
Chapter 154 Summary: “The Ships of the Piraeus”
The alienist stresses that all people undergo moments of delusion. He relates this to Brás’s servant, who tends to the house with ultimate care. According to him, the servant might think himself the true owner of the house.
Chapter 155 Summary: “A Cordial Reflection”
Reflecting on the alienist’s words, Brás acknowledges the potential validity of his concerns about Quincas. He feels that it’s essential to safeguard his colleague from outside influences that might disorient him.
Chapter 156 Summary: “The Pride of Servanthood”
Quincas disagrees with the alienist’s interpretation of Brás’s servant. He relates the servant’s meticulous work to a pride of servitude, attributing it to a noble sentiment rather than a delusion.
Chapter 157 Summary: “A Brilliant Phase”
Brás exposes the alienist’s claim of Quincas’s “insanity,” surprising his friend. He reconciles with Cotrim and accepts his invitation to join an Order. Brás considers this phase the most brilliant in his life, where he focused on altruistic service to the impoverished and sick.
Chapter 158 Summary: “Two Encounters”
After several years, Brás feels tired of his position in the Order and resigns. Beforehand, he witnesses Marcela’s death while at a hospital and unexpectedly encounters Eugênia during a charity visit to a slum, marking their final meeting.
Chapter 159 Summary: “Semidementia”
Quincas returns after a journey, seemingly afflicted with dementia. Aware of his illness, he obsesses about his personal philosophy, humanitism. Shortly after, he dies in Brás’s house, claiming that pain is an illusion.
Chapter 160 Summary: “On Negatives”
Brás invents an anti-hypochondriac poultice following Quincas’s death but dies from an illness shortly after, never reaping its rewards. Reflecting on his life, he laments remaining unmarried and never achieving fame and prestige. Despite escaping certain hardships, he acknowledges his lack of descendants as his final regret.
Chapters 130-160 Analysis
Brás Cubas exhibits striking disparities in his reactions toward individuals from different social strata, further illustrating The Elite’s Entitlement and Hypocrisy. While he denounces Nhã-loló’s father’s engagement with cockfights as beneath their social position, he fails to condemn Quincas Borba’s fascination with a dog fight. This discrepancy suggests that the protagonist holds different standards for people of different social classes. Societal norms in 19th-century Brazil contributed to this double standard; the elite enjoyed a degree of leniency and immunity from harsh criticism, while those from lower social classes were subjected to stricter moral scrutiny. As a product of his time, Brás internalizes this bias, being more lenient with individuals within his own social circle.
The alienist’s and Quincas’s comments also reflect this societal bias, further marginalizing and dehumanizing working-class individuals. By attributing the servant’s harmless behavior to an insatiable greed, the alienist perpetuates the stereotype that individuals of a lower social standing are inherently prone to wrongdoing. He also proposes that ownership and servitude are inherently incompatible and thus considers the servant’s imagined desires as delusional fantasies. Conversely, Quincas offers an interpretation that, while seemingly more benign, nonetheless builds on a similar logic. Instead of advocating for social equality, Quincas argues that certain individuals are inherently better suited for servitude, naturalizing the idea that people have predetermined roles in society.
Through the characters’ biased morals, Machado de Assis comments on the elites’ fundamental lack of empathy toward lower social classes. Brás’s treatment of Dona Plácida at the end of her life exemplifies this flawed moral code. Upon receiving a request from Virgília to check on Dona, he feels burdened and indifferent toward her suffering. This sharply contrasts with his reaction to Quincas’s dementia diagnosis. He values Dona solely based on her usefulness to him, a sentiment the protagonist admits to in the aptly titled Chapter 144, “Relative Usefulness.” Moreover, Brás cruelly compares the conflict in her marriage to a dog fight, dehumanizing her and reducing her struggle to an animalistic cycle. This mentality diminishes her hardships and portrays her struggles as mundane or insignificant compared to those of the elite, despite enduring significantly challenging circumstances.
The pronounced discrepancy between Brás and Quincas’s professed morals and their actual behavior culminates in the theme of The Elite’s Entitlement and Hypocrisy. Quincas’s personal philosophy, which Brás endorses, paradoxically champions liberty while dismissing society’s pervasive class-based injustices. Brás finds resonance in Quincas’s philosophy due to its alignment with his own sense of self-importance. Humanitism provides a framework that justifies his tendency to prioritize his own desires and ambitions while overlooking the detrimental effects of his actions on others. It provides a framework that validates his selfishness. Quincas’s assertion of superiority as “one of the most legitimate pleasant things for the human organism” resonates with the elite’s entrenched belief in their justified entitlement (194). Humanitism upholds systems that benefit the elite while under the façade of moral superiority.
Brás’s lack of marital success and professional achievement creates a sense of personal dissatisfaction and futility at the end of his life, contributing to the themes of The Macabre Irony of Mortality and Memory and The Passage of Time. His pursuit of love and companionship was driven by self-gratification rather than a genuine desire to connect with others. His relationships, therefore, were superficial and unsatisfying, leaving him feeling emotionally unfulfilled. Similarly, his focus on amassing wealth and social prestige was motivated by egotism, rather than a passion for a particular career path. Furthermore, the deaths he witnesses confirm his sense of nihilism. Dona and Eugênia meet grim endings despite their virtue, while Quincas dies in pain while claiming that pain is an illusion. Virgília’s grief for her husband rattles Brás, who had believed that she didn’t him. Either he had not understood her feelings, or her grief is a sham; either way, it confirms both Brás’s emptiness and the unreliability of his memories. His belief that childlessness is the sole positive aspect in his life ties into this nihilism: He sees his lack of children as a form of liberation from the burden of having his offspring experience similar disappointments in their lives. Brás’s pessimistic outlook throughout the novel culminates in a deeply unsatisfactory existence, characterized by unfulfilled ambitions, failed relationships, and a profound sense of emptiness.
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