A Escrava Isaura 10.60 · 10.60

The steadfast refusal of both — 'pae e filha recusavão-se constantemente' — is the disguise holding firm under pressure. Every 'pretexto' Isaura and Miguel invent is a small act of self-preservation, the endless improvisation of people who must never be pinned down. Their unity is touching: father and daughter, of one mind, presenting a united front of excuses against a persistent, well-meaning suitor. But the passage also marks the exhaustion of ordinary defences. Álvaro's 'argumentos, instancias, supplicas' failed against their resolve — and so, as the next line reveals, he resorted to a lie. The fugitives could withstand persuasion; they could not withstand deception, because a lie attacked the one thing their whole strategy rested on, their fear of drawing notice.

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