Dom Casmurro 13.21 · 13.21

'O medico era eu' — the doctor was me. The word order gives Bento a small proud emphasis, the child's satisfaction in his assigned importance. He crosses into 'o quintal della', her yard, the possessive quietly marking the space as Capitú's domain that he is admitted to. The whole memory is organized around going toward her, into her territory, at her household's need.

The stick 'um pau' is the first of his props, a child's readiness to furnish a role from whatever the yard offers. Machado's affection for the scene is plain, but so is his structural care: he is showing us a Bento who plays at authority and gravity, borrowing the gestures of grown men. The boy who solemnly doctors dolls is recognizably the same self who will later borrow the postures of husband and judge — always performing a part, always a little uncertain whether the role is truly his.

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