— I mustn't speak
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— Gosto della, porque acho-a bonita, e porque… ah! não devo fallar…
— I like it, because I find it pretty, and because… ah! I mustn't speak…
Isaura begins to answer why she loves the song — then stops herself. There is something she is not free to say.
The sentence breaks off exactly where the truth begins. Isaura can give the harmless half — it is pretty — and then runs into the half she is not permitted: 'não devo fallar', I must not speak. It is the reflex of a person who has learned that some of her own thoughts are not hers to utter aloud, least of all to the woman who owns her. Guimarães lets the dash do the work; what she cannot say is louder than anything she could.
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A Escrava Isaura 1.47 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/escravaisaura/1.47/