The proud introducer returns
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Neste tom continuárão a conversar, até que passados alguns minutos, Álvaro, tendo cumprido a grata commissão de apresentador daquella nova perola dos salões, estava de novo entre elles.
In this tone they went on conversing, until, some minutes having passed, Álvaro, having discharged the pleasant commission of presenting that new pearl of the salons, was again among them.
Álvaro returns from settling Isaura in the inner rooms, having played 'apresentador', the introducer, of 'aquella nova perola dos salões' — that new pearl of the salons. The pearl is the perfect ambivalent image for what he has done: a pearl is a jewel to be displayed and prized, and by presenting Isaura as one he has, with the best intentions, exhibited her to the assembled world. The word 'perola' quietly rhymes with Leôncio's 'joia inestimavel', the priceless jewel, from Cap IX — both men reduce Isaura, in their admiration, to a precious object, though one would cage her and the other only show her off. Álvaro calls his errand 'grata', pleasant, and feels only pride; the reader sees a man who has, out of love, made his beloved the most looked-at woman in Recife, and returns pleased with the danger he has done.
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