A canoe at the river's edge
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Lá no fundo do quintal á beira do rio está amarrada uma canoa; é quanto nos basta.
There at the bottom of the yard, at the river's edge, a canoe lies moored; it is all we need.
The plank of salvation becomes literal: 'uma canoa', a canoe, moored at the river's edge. The word 'amarrada', the same participle Isaura used a moment ago for herself — 'amarrada de pés e mãos', bound hand and foot — is transferred here to the boat, and the echo is quietly redemptive: the binding that was her terror is now the mooring she will loose to be free. The Paraíba, the great river the estate opens onto, has run through the book as scenery; now it becomes the road out. 'É quanto nos basta' — it is all we need — measures how little liberty requires once the chance comes: a small boat and an unwatched hour.
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A Escrava Isaura 9.139 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/escravaisaura/9.139/