CAMÕES’ VEIL AND MACHADO’S SLEEVES

Abstract

Dom Casmurro’s narrator, Bento Santiago, tells of requiring his wife Capitu to stop wearing sleeveless dresses when she goes to dances. Her compliance involves using semi-transparent sleeves, which he compares to the diaphanous veil used by Venus in Luís de Camões’s Os lusíadas. As is the case with many of Machado de Assis’ literary allusions, the reference contains surreptitious clues. On the one hand, by evoking the contriving femininity of Venus it supports the narrator’s accusation of infidelity against his wife. But on the other hand, the allusion suggests that Santiago’s account, as a whole, is like a semi-transparent veil, encouraging the reader to look for deeper meanings that may not agree with the narrator’s intentions.