The Skeptical Paradox in Machado de Assis

Abstract

Abstract: This article discusses the issue of skepticism in Machado de Assis’ work. The difficulty of dealing with the skepticism of our “greatest author” persists as long as one assumes that Machado was great in spite of having been a skeptic. This is because it is not convincing to attribute Machado’s skepticism to the fact that he never had children, nor that he was epileptic and mulatto: these explanations cheapen the author and his skepticism. Our hypothesis is, as Cândido Mota Filho said, that “the form of Machado’s doubt, more often than not pointed and cruel, is an initial expression of his fight for acknowledgment.” We assume that Machado is one of the most important Brazilian writers precisely because of a skepticism that does not imply disbelief but which does imply a suspension of common sense and therefore of reason, obliging the reader to also leave his interpretation unconcluded.