Biblical Intertextuality and Slavery in Machado de Assis (Two Chronicles of May 1888)

Abstract

On May 17th , 1988 during Thanksgiving for the abolition of slaves, a Mass was celebrated in the presence of the Regent Princess and other authorities. In allusion to the event a Machadian chronicle parodies the gospel of the Mass. Just like the first biblical gospel, the parody has its Christ, John the Baptist and the disciples in addition to a parable. Besides the biblical gospels, the chronicle mentions the books Deuteronomy and Ecclesiastes. The author provokes particular effects as he superposes in a parodic way the events and characters of his epoch to the biblical ones, that leads one to ponder about the meaning of the events portrayed in a critic to the politicians and towards the events that resulted in the adoption of the abolition. Machado wrote another famous chronicle, published on May 19 th . 1888 to which biblical allusions were not lacking to celebrate the freeing of the slave Pancrácio. The narrator claims to anticipate the government measures and sets free his slave lad and offers a banquet in order to celebrate the occasion. Biblical images are used to highlight the event — everything aiming at drawing attention to the narrator, who does not conceal his political aspirations; achieving them, nothing better than pretending to follow Christian values and pretending to be good. What is the sense effect of biblical intertextuality in these plays by Machado regarding slavery? That is what we intend to investigate.