A Escrava Isaura 3.44 · 3.44

He drives the objectification home with a sneer disguised as common sense: 'Querias, que eu mandasse para a cosinha os meos espelhos de Veneza?' — would you have me banish my Venetian mirrors to the kitchen? To hide Isaura from view would be, in his logic, as absurd as sending costly mirrors to the scullery — a beautiful thing belongs where it can be admired. The comparison is exact and appalling, and the choice of object perfect: mirrors, of all things — an image that gives back an image. Isaura, like the Venetian glass, is prized for reflecting her owner's wealth and taste back at him; her worth is entirely a function of how she adorns his rooms and flatters his standing. Henrique warned that her presence was dangerous; Leôncio answers, in effect, that the danger is beside the point, because Isaura is not a person who might be endangered but a possession to be positioned. The chapter has now shown us, in full daylight, the mind that Isaura must survive.

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