A link between Brazil and France: Machado de Assis's Histórias da meia-noite

Abstract

Histórias da Meia-Noite, by Machado de Assis, is composed by six short stories that were initially published in Jornal das Famílias (1863-1878), and compiled into book form only in 1873.Considering that reference to French authors can be found in almost all of them, it is intended to perform the analysis of these texts, thus making it possible to present suggestions for the comprehension of this phenomenon. At first, it is possible to verify that the French presence is manifested through quotes from the works of André Chénier and Boileau, and allusions to writers such as Nicolas Gilbert and La Rochefoucauld. It is intended to observe whether the machadian French quotes vary in accordance with the vehicle through which they circle, namely novel, short story and chronicle, and whether Machado de Assis selects names of his preference in each literary genre. It is also sought to demonstrate that these short stories were published in a periodical that established direct contact with the French culture, contributing to its dissemination.