The Rio de Janeiro as inscribed in "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas"

Abstract

The literary text, such as artistic expression, refers to the historical context in which it was produced. Accordingly, spatial references contribute to ins­tall textual verisimilitude and translate symbolic significations, expressing rites and social values. This article investigates the meaning that referen­ces to objects and spatiality, present in Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, introduced in the novel of Machado de Assis, allowing to infer aspects of Carioca society of the late Nineteenth and also axiological positions connoted by them. From the analysis, we conclude that Machado de Assis is not merely a descriptor of scenarios, but an ac­curate critical, to enlist the city of Rio de Janeiro in his novel, stands in front of his socio-historical context and assesses it.

Keywords

• Literatura
• Machado de Assis
• Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas
• espaço urbano