Dom Casmurro 6.32 · 6.32

Two brisk verbs restore the child: 'apeou-me, affagou-me' — she takes him down and strokes him, undoing in a moment the uncle's small experiment in toughening. The rhythm of the pair, quick and tender, is all maternal reflex.

Machado then sets the two adults side by side in a single frame, and the contrast is the whole family in miniature. The mother acts — lifting, soothing; the brother merely 'perguntava,' asking his half-mocking question from wherever he sits, comfortable and unhurried. He is 'o irmão' here, defined by his relation to her, the dependent bachelor uncle who lives inside her household and inside her care. The imperfect tense of 'perguntava' lets his teasing hang in the air over the scene. In one sentence we see how this house divides its labour: Glória does the loving, Cosme does the commentary.

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