Dom Casmurro 29.18 · 29.18

Two quiet imperfect verbs complete the impossible courtesy: he 'apeava-se e entrava,' got down and came in. The Emperor of Brazil crossing the Santiago threshold is the dream's peak absurdity and its deepest wish — the highest authority in the land making a house-call on behalf of one boy's happiness.

Machado keeps the diction plain, almost domestic, so the grandeur lands by contrast: no fanfare in the verbs themselves, just a visitor stepping down and walking in, as any caller might. The whole novel turns on who is admitted to this house and what they carry through the door; the dream simply pushes that logic to its extreme, letting in the one guest whose word could overrule Dona Glória's promise to God. That the fantasy needs a literal emperor shows how absolute the boy feels the obstacle to be.

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