A Escrava Isaura 8.67 · 8.67

'Entregar Isaura a si mesma' — to hand her over to herself — is Leôncio's chilling euphemism for freedom: self-possession recast as a danger one hands someone into. To be one's own is precisely what a free person is; he makes it sound like negligence. The endearment 'minha Malvina' sugars the refusal.

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