Dom Casmurro 3.93 · 3.93

The mood breaks all at once: 'Mas, que é isso, mana Gloria?' — but what's this, sister Gloria? Cosme, mid-musing, notices his sister-in-law's face and forgets the argument entirely. The abrupt turn is beautifully human — the debate over vows and priesthood evaporates the instant real feeling appears in the room. Something in the talk has struck Dona Glória to the quick, and the reader, like the hidden boy, understands before it is said: she is crying. The philosophical council collapses into concern for a weeping woman.

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