The threshold opened
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E’ escusado contar-vos o resto desde então, se bem que com algum acanhamento foi-me franqueado o umbral da gruta mysteriosa.
It is needless to tell you the rest from then on; though with some diffidence, the threshold of the mysterious grotto was opened to me.
The barrier finally yields — 'foi-me franqueado o umbral', the threshold was opened to me — but note the qualifier: 'com algum acanhamento', with some diffidence, some shy hesitation. Even in gratitude, Isaura and Miguel open their door reluctantly, admitting the one person their rescue has made it impossible to keep out. The 'umbral', the threshold, has been the whole chapter's frontier — the line between the hidden and the seen — and here it is crossed for the first time. Álvaro is in. What began as a fortress that even the landlord could not penetrate has been breached by a wet afternoon and a kindness, and the reader feels the disguise grow, from this moment, one crucial degree more fragile.
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A Escrava Isaura 10.43 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/escravaisaura/10.43/