Saudade and maternal longing
Read the full text in our reader
— Todos estão saudosos, disse-me este, mas a maior saudade está naturalmente no maior dos corações; e qual é ele? perguntou escrevendo a resposta nos olhos.— Mamãe, acudi eu. José Dias apertou-me as mãos com alvoroço, e logo pintou a tristeza de minha mãe, que falava de mim todos os dias, quase a todas as horas.
All are nostalgic, said this one to me, but the greatest longing is naturally in the greatest of hearts; and which is he? he asked, writing the answer in his eyes. 'Mommy,' I answered. José Dias squeezed my hands with excitement, and immediately painted the sadness of my mother, who spoke of me all days, almost at all hours.
José Dias tells the narrator that everyone is nostalgic, but the greatest longing is naturally in the greatest heart; the narrator answers 'Mamãe', and José Dias describes the mother's sadness.
José Dias prompts the narrator to identify who feels the greatest longing, and the narrator answers 'Mommy'. José Dias then describes the mother's constant sadness and her frequent talk of the narrator.
Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.
Open Dom Casmurro 61.2 in the full reader
Always open passages in the reader
You are reading a page of the Dom Casmurro — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.
The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.
Also on our shelves:
Dom Casmurro 61.2 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/domcasmurro/61.2/