Dom Casmurro 21.50 · 21.50

Justina points to José Dias's diction as his signature: 'aquellas palavras que só elle conhece.' He has a vocabulary of his own, a private stock of fancy or unusual words that mark his speech as unmistakably his.

This is the closest Justina comes to the insight Machado will make famous — that José Dias loves the outsized word. She notices the same peculiarity from the outside, as a listener wearied by it: the man's language is a costume, ornate and self-conscious, words chosen for display. That his eloquence is so recognizable is itself a weakness she is exposing. A style that calls attention to itself can be mocked, quoted, seen through. Justina is doing all three, teaching Bento to hear the seams in the very speeches meant to seal his fate.

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