Much and much study
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e não o fez sem estudar muito e muito;
and had not done it without studying much and much;
He insists he did not take up the pose lightly.
The doubled 'muito e muito' is pure José Dias. A single 'much' would state the claim; the repetition inflates it, and inflation is his native grammar — the same love of the superlative that Machado will crown in a later chapter. Even in confessing a fraud he cannot resist swelling the defense.
The logic underneath is a fine piece of self-exculpation. He did practice medicine without a degree, yes, but 'não o fez sem estudar' — not without study, and a great deal of it. The double negative and the doubled adverb work together to convert an admission into a boast: he may be no doctor, but he is a diligent one. It is the plea of every autodidact who mistakes effort for authority.
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Dom Casmurro 5.34 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/domcasmurro/5.34/