Four Stomachs and a Brain: An Interpretation of "Esaú e Jacó"

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing inspiration from the narrator’s statement in Esaú e Jacó (Esau and Jacob) that the reader “has four stomachs in his brain,” this essay attempts to identify what the four corresponding levels of meaning of Machado de Assis’ novel might be. The following four readings of the novel are proposed: 1) mythic-religious immanentism; 2) national allegory; 3) the narrator as skeptic; and 4) the novel as roman à clé. Finally, the interpenetration of these four levels within Esaú e Jacó is analyzed.