Capitu (2008–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Episode #1.4 - full transcript
EXPLANATION
That night I slept badly.
The next morning, I had
a headache...
and pretended to be indisposed,
so as not to go to the seminary...
so I could speak to Capitu.
She might be angry with
me, not want me...
and prefer the dandy rider.
Wanted to settle everything.
Hear her out.
That's outrageous, Bento!
I can't believe this after
our oaths...
And judge her.
I don't know him, all
I know is he passes here
in the afternoon,
like so many others.
And if I did look at him it's just
proof there's nothing between us.
If there were, I'd try
to deceive you.
And in any case, he's
going to be married.
He's getting married?
With a girl from Barbonos
Street.
Oh really?
But to avoid further
trouble,
shall stop going to
the window.
ONE SECRET FOR ANOTHER
I was thinking of coming to
visit you if you delayed another day.
-Are you all right?
-Yes.
You seem so distracted.
You should disguise it.
I too am distracted but
I keep myself in check.
So I seem...
Yes, sometimes you don't listen,
gazing into nothing.
Disguise it, Santiago.
I have my reasons.
I doubt anyone becomes distracted
for no reason.
Escobar...
What is it?
You're my friend, and
I'm your friend too.
And here at the seminary you're
the person who has most penetrated
my heart.
Outside, apart from
my family,
I don't really have
a friend.
If I said the same thing
it wouldn't sound right...
as if I was just repeating you.
But I don't care about that.
Can you keep a secret?
If you ask it is because you doubt
it, and in that case...
I'm sorry, it's just an expression.
I know how honest
you are...
I'll pretend I'm confessing
to a priest.
If you need absolution,
you have it.
Escobar, I'm here but
I cannot become a priest.
My people believe it and expect it,
but I cannot become a priest.
- Nor can I, Santiago.
- You too?
A secret for a secret.
I also have no intention
of finishing the course.
I want to go into commerce,
but say absolutely nothing...
this must remain
between us.
It's not that I'm not religious.
I am, but commerce is
my passion.
Is that all?
What else could be?
A person?
It must be a girl.
You cannot imagine the pleasure
confiding in him gave me.
It was as an additional happiness.
That young man's heart
who heard me, said I was right.
And I didn't tell him everything,
nor even the best part.
I didn't mention the combing episode,
for example.
Needless to say...
we returned to the subject
again and again.
Many times. I praised Capitu's
moral qualities.
I didn't touch on her physical graces,
nor did he ask about them.
I merely insinuated how favorable
it was to know her by sight.
Now it won't be possible,
Capitu will spend a few days
with a friend in Inv?lidos Street.
When she comes,
you can go.
But you can go before,
always.
Everyone at home liked
you very much.
And I liked everyone, but
one must make a distinction.
I confess that your mother is
an adorable lady.
Isn't she?
Yes, my mother was adorable.
Although she was forcing me
into a career I didn't wish...
I couldn't but sense
how adorable she was.
Like a saint.
It so happened that my absence was
soon tempered by Capitu's devotion.
My mother gradually became
convinced...
that the young lady would
make me happy.
Capitu was the angel
in the Scripture.
Capitu became the flower
of the house,
the morning sunshine,
the afternoon breeze,
the moon at night.
My mother felt her heart,
examined her eyes...
and my name lay between them
like a key to a future life.
A WORD
And why not go and see her?
Didn't you tell me that Sancha's
father offered you his house?
Yes.
If that's what you want.
Capitu should have
returned today...
to finish some work with me.
I'm sure her friend asked
to stay the night.
Maybe you'll become
sweethearts.
I didn't kill her because I had no
iron bar nor rope to hand,
no pistol nor dagger.
But the glance I gave her
if it could kill,
would have resolved the matter.
One of Providence's mistakes
was to give
man only arms and teeth
as weapons of attack,
and legs as weapons of escape
or defense.
Our eyes should be enough.
Cousin Justina escaped
mine.
I didn't escape the effects of
insinuation...
and on Sunday I hurried to
Inv?lidos Street.
-Sancha asked you to come.
-Is she worse?
No, sir, but she wishes
to speak to you.
Stay here for a while.
This is Sancha's nurse she won't
have another. I'll be right back.
Is it really you?
THE COUCH
Of all the items
of furniture only the couch
appeared to understand our situation.
That's my opinion:
the couch brings
together intimacy and
decorum...
two men sitting together
may debate the destiny
of the empire, and two women
the grace of a dress.
But a man and a women,
by an aberration...
in the laws of nature,
will speak of
nothing but
themselves.
Which is what we did.
I vaguely recall asking her if
she would be staying long there.
long there.
I don't know, the fever
seems to be receding, but...
I also recall, vaguely, that
I explained my visit to her...
with the utmost truth, that is,
that my mother had suggested it.
Your mother?
Then we shall be happy!
We'll be happy, Capitu,
we'll be happy!
Sancha is asking for you, Capitu.
THE PORTRAIT
- Has her fever worsened?
- No.
Send my regards to your mother
and cousin Justina.
See you soon.
All my feelings of envy
went with her.
How could Capitu control
herself so well...
She's a young lady.
but not I?
Now I saw her more often.
Each time I thought her
taller and fuller.
Her eyes seemed to have
a new reflection, and her mouth...
Is it really you?
Another empire.
Bento, do you think Capitu
is like this portrait?
It's of my deceased wife.
People who knew her say
the same thing.
Her features are similar,
especially her forehead...
and the eyes. As for the spirit,
they're like sisters.
Even her friendship
with Sancha.
Her mother was such
a friend to her.
In life there are such
strange...
similarities.
CALLED
Bento!
Bento!
Do you know my son
Manduca died?
-Died?
-Died...
half an hour ago,
to be buried tomorrow.
I sent word to
your mother,
and she did me the kindness
of sending a few flowers
for the coffin.
My poor son!
Want to see him?
Come on, see him, please.
Saying this isn't easy but I'd rather
sin through excess than too little.
I wanted to reply that
I didn't want to see Manduca...
and even made
a move to get away.
It wasn't fear,
perhaps on another occasion I'd have
gone in with ease, out of curiosity,
but now I was so
content!
To see a dead body on your way
back from your girlfriend.
Some things just don't go
together.
I don't blame the man.
To him, the most important thing
right then was his son.
But don't blame me, either.
To me, the most important
thing was Capitu.
The problem was, the two matters
converged in the same afternoon...
and the death of one came
putting its nose in the other.
If I'd passed by earlier or later,
if Manduca had waited a few hours.
Why die precisely half
an hour ago?
Any time is suitable
for death,
one can die perfectly well at six
or seven o'clock in the afternoon.
I let my body do whatever
it could...
and it ended up going in.
A FRIEND FOR A DEAD BODY
A friend can make up
for a dead body.
For around
5 minutes...
Escobar held my hand
in his...
as if he hadn't seen me
for months.
Will you dine with us?
That is what I came for.
The last time you were sick
and I didn't get the chance
to praise your great qualities
For the great education you gave
my good friend Santiago.
Escobar insisted with his fine manners,
the good examples...
the sweet and rare mother
heaven had given me.
Too kind.
I was just as content, as if
Escobar had been my own invention.
It's true. At the seminary,
everyone, priests, colleagues...
everyone only want
the best for your son.
You've found the kindest of
friends, Bento. Utterly polite!
Kind or not, let's hurry with
this compote and to backgammon!
And cousin Justina couldn't
find a single defect.
Later, yes, on the second or third
Sunday she came and confessed
that my friend Escobar...
was rather haughty and
had policeman's eyes
which missed
nothing!
They're just his eyes,
cousin Justina.
I'm not saying they're
anyone else's.
They're thoughtful eyes.
Certainly.
However, there may be some
truth in what Dona Justina says.
One doesn't contradict the other.
Thoughtfulness goes perfectly
well with curiosity.
He seems curious,
certainly, but...
To me he seems to be
a very serious young man.
Precisely!
Your mother is a fine looking
lady, so youthful.
What age must she be?
Over 40.
Not possible! Forty years old?
She doesn't look 30!
She looks so young and pretty.
No wonder God gave
you such fine eyes.
Has she been a widow
for long?
ARITHMETIC IDEAS
There are useless letters and
dispensable ones.
What's the difference
between "d" and "t"?
They have almost
the same sound.
the same with b and p...
the same with k and g...
Mistakes of calligraphy.
Now take numbers: no two provide
the same service.
4 is 4, 7 is 7.
And just admire the beauty with which
a 4 and a 7 together form this thing
expressed as 11 .
Now double it and you'll have 22.
But the zero, the zero has an
even greater perfection.
The value of zero is, by itself,
nothing...
but the job of this negative sign
is actually to increase.
A 5 alone is just a 5.
Add two zeros, you'll have 500.
So that which is worth nothing
can make something be worth...
a great deal, not the case
with double letters.
One "p" or two make no difference.
For instance, give me a bunch
of numbers I didn't know...
and have no way of knowing.
Give me the number of your mother's
houses and the rents...
of each and if I can't add
them up in two,
in one minute,
then hang me!
I'll take the bet!
Consider that there were
no fewer than 9 houses...
and that the rents varied
from 70 to 180 thousand r?is.
It all adds up to 1 conto
and 70 mil r?is a month!
All this I'd spend 3 or 4 minutes
working out on paper...
on paper and
Escobar did it in his head.
Right?
Easily.
This proves that arithmetical
ideas are simpler...
and therefore more natural.
Nature is simple.
Art...
is clumsy.
Escobar discreetly squeezed
my hand so strongly...
that my fingers hurt to this day....
That's just an illusion, I'm sure,
it must be the effect of the long
endless hours I've been sitting
...writing.
Let us rest the pen for
a few moments.
THE POPE
Now it's certain, you'll soon
be out of the seminary.
Wait till tomorrow.
The idea is so saintly that
no sanctuary can resist it.
Tomorrow, Bento.
But is it certain?
Utterly certain!
He revealed a mystery to me.
According to him, my mother
regretted
what she did, and
wanted me out of there...
but understood that the vow's moral
bond held her irredeemably to it.
So the two of us would go to Rome
to appeal to the Pope for absolution.
What do you think?
I say no more, for the chapter
must be finished...
but he didn't finish the speech,
saw my mother's relieved soul
I saw Capitu's happy soul.
You'll forget me completely.
- Never!
- You'll forget.
If Capitu thought it too far,
I wouldn't go.
They say Europe is so pretty,
and especially Italy.
Isn't that where the soprano
singers come from?
I had to listen to her.
Is there no other way?
Dona Gl?ria is anxious for you
to leave the seminary.
Yes, but she thinks she is
trapped by the vow.
Swear that if you go you'll
return in six months?
I swear.
-By God's name?
-By God's name, by everything.
I swear that in six months
I'll be back.
What if the Pope hasn't
yet released you?
I'll say he has.
And what if you lie?
A SUBSTITUTE
I believe in you, in your oath.
But perhaps there is
another solution.
Think about it.
And Escobar.
No, Bento.
Your mother made a vow to give
God a priest, right?
Then give Him a priest
other than yourself.
She could very well take in
a little orphan boy
have him ordained
at her expense...
and a priest will be given to the
altar, without your having...
I understand! That's right!
Consult the protonotary.
He'll say whether it comes to the same
thing I'll consult him myself.
And if he hesitates, speak
to the bishop.
Yes, that must be it.
Truly, the vow is fulfilled
there be no loss of priest.
On the economic side it is easy, your
mother would spend the same as on you,
an orphan would require
the same comfort.
She has a good income.
One conto and seventy
thousand r?is...
There is no other solution.
-And we get out together.
-You too?
Yes. I'm going to improve
my Latin and then leave.
Forget theology.
Even Latin, what use will
that be in commerce?
In hoc signo vinces.
Under this symbol ye
shall triumph!
THE DEPARTURE
My mother hesitated a little,
but yielded in the end...
after Father Cabral, who consulted
the bishop...
came back and told her it could be.
I left the seminary
at the end of the year.
I was then just over 17.
I turned 18, 19,
20, 21.
At 22 I was
a law graduate.
Everything around me
changed.
My mother decided
to age.
Even so her hair only
turned gray reluctantly.
Uncle Cosme had heart trouble
and cousin Justina
was just older.
Jos? Dias too, but not enough
to miss coming to see me...
graduate and drive down
the mountains with me...
jolly and affectionate as
if he were the graduate.
Capitu's mother had died, and
her father had retired.
Escobar began trading
coffee.
Cousin Justina was of
the opinion that he was toying...
with the idea of asking
my mother to remarry.
But if he did have such an idea,
one mustn't forget
the great difference in age.
Our separation didn't cool
our friendship...
Escobar was the third party in the
correspondence between me and Capitu.
Ever since he saw her he
encouraged me greatly in our love.
And Escobar married...
guess who?
He married the lovely Sancha,
Capitu's friend,
almost sister,
in fact once...
writing to me, she called her
"your little sister-in-law".
Thus are affections and relationships
formed...
and adventures and books.
My little Bento!
This is your son!
Son, this is your mother!
Brother Cosme, look.
Isn't he just like his father?
Yes, there really is something
in the eyes, his facial features.
He's his father,
a little more modern.
Now tell me, sister Gl?ria, wasn't
it better that he insisted on...
not becoming a priest?
This rascal would never
make an able priest.
Bento!
Dr. Bento Santiago!
My mother kissed me with
a tenderness I can hardly describe.
Uncle Cosme, to cheer her up,
called me "Doctor"...
as did Jos? Dias and everyone
at the house, the cousin, slaves.
THOU SHALT BE HAPPY, BENTO
Thou shalt be happy, Bento.
- And why wouldn't you be happy?
- Did you hear?
Hear what?
A voice saying I'd be
happy?
That's good! You yourself
said it.
I could still swear it was
the voice of a fairy.
Naturally fairies, expelled from
tales and verses...
have penetrated
our hearts and
now speak from within.
This one I hear clearly and distinctly.
She must be a cousin of the
Witches of Scotland:
Thou shalt be king, Macbeth!
"Thou shalt be happy, Bento."
After all, it's the same
prophecy...
the same Universal and Eternal air.
You should be happy, you deserve it,
as you deserved this diploma.
And happiness isn't just glory,
it's also something else.
Oh! You didn't confide everything
to Jos? Dias!
Poor Jos? Dias is cast
aside,
a spent force, worth
nothing.
Now it is the young,
the Escobars...
well, anyway...
the old also know how
to love.
But what is it?
How do you mean?
That intimacy of neighbors had
to end up...
like this, which is truly a blessing
from heaven.
For she's an angel,
an utter angel.
Why is it she didn't also tell me
what the others knew...
and which is fully known
and approved here at home?
Mother really approves?
Quite so. We have spoken about it
and she was kind enough...
to ask my opinion.
I told her I couldn't wish for
a finer daughter-in-law...
kind, discreet, well-mannered,
our friend.
And a woman of the house.
Since her mother's death,
she has taken care of everything.
P?dua, now he's
retired...
receives his pension
and hands it over to his daughter.
It is Capitu who pays the bills,
draws up the list of expenses...
takes care of provisions,
everything!
And what about her good looks?
Ah, mon Dieu...
you know better than anyone.
Has mother consulted you
about our marriage?
Not exactly,
but she did ask whether
Capitu would make a good wife.
It was I, in my answer, who spoke
of a daughter-in-law.
Dona Gl?ria didn't contradict me
and even looked amused.
Thou shalt be happy, Bento!
-Thou shalt be happy, Bento!
-Thou shalt be happy, Bento!
My mother, some weeks later when
I went to ask her permission to marry,
as well as her consent,
pronounced the same prophecy.
You shall be happy, my son!
A mother's own version.
Then let us all be happy, before
the reader comes to his senses...
dead from waiting.
We were married! It was in 1865,
on a March afternoon.
In fact it was raining.
When we got up to Alto da Tijuca which
was where our newly-weds' nest was...
the sky gathered
in the rain and lit the stars.
Not only the familiar ones, but those
which would only be discovered
many centuries from now.
IN HEAVEN
Ye wives be in subjection
to your own husbands...
Whose adorning let it not be
that outward adorning of plaiting...
the hair, and of wearing of gold...
but let it be
the hidden man
of the heart.
I sit in the shadow of that
which I had so much desired.
Rest, for I shall not
attempt a description.
Not even the human tongue has
sufficient apt forms.
It is true that Capitu told me
that I was the only lace...
and only adornment
she would wear.
To which I responded that
my spouse would always have...
the finest lace
in the world.
No external sign revealed
the march of time.
Thus was our week
in Tijuca.
A MARRIED WOMAN
Sometimes we returned
to the past...
and enjoyed
recalling sad times and
calamities.
What is it?
I enjoy recalling our
teenage years...
I was remembering Jos? Dias.
He conspired against our union
and in the end celebrated our bond.
All began with
his accusation.
When will we go back to town?
Have you already grown tired of me?
- Me?
- It would appear so.
You always have to be such
a child, Bento.
So I've waited so many years
to grow tired in 7 days?
No, Bento, I said that
because...
I think perhaps the others
might like to see us
and be wondering if we're ill...
and I confess that, for my part,
I'd like to see father.
- Then we'll go tomorrow.
- No!
The weather must
be cloudy.
Once or twice, we spoke
of returning...
but the mornings were
always either rainy or sunny...
and we waited for a cloudy day,
which refused to appear.
Then we'll go tomorrow.
No.
The weather must be cloudy.
But our impatience continued, and
we returned on a sunny day.
The joy with which she put on
her married woman's hat...
the married woman's way in which
she gave me her hand to get in...
and out of the car, and
her arm to walk on the street...
All this showed me that
the cause of Capitu's impatience...
had been for the external
signs of our new marital status.
It wasn't enough to be married
within four walls.
She needed the rest of
the world too.
I'd invent outings so
I'd been seen and envied.
On the street, many curious
folk turned their heads...
others stopped,
a few asked:
Who are they?
One knowledgeable person explained:
"That's Dr. Santiago...
who a few days ago married
that young lady, Dona Capitolina."
She's a fine filly!
Filly is vulgar.
Jos? Dias found a better one.
HAPPINESS HAS A GOOD SOUL
He was the only person to visit
us during those days in Tijuca...
bringing greetings from
our families and his own words...
but words which were pure music.
I don't set them down here in order
to save paper, but they were delicious.
One day, he compared us
to two birds raised in nooks
on neighboring rooftops.
You can imagine the rest,
the birds ruffling their feathers...
and flying up into the sky!
Music!
That night I slept badly.
The next morning, I had
a headache...
and pretended to be indisposed,
so as not to go to the seminary...
so I could speak to Capitu.
She might be angry with
me, not want me...
and prefer the dandy rider.
Wanted to settle everything.
Hear her out.
That's outrageous, Bento!
I can't believe this after
our oaths...
And judge her.
I don't know him, all
I know is he passes here
in the afternoon,
like so many others.
And if I did look at him it's just
proof there's nothing between us.
If there were, I'd try
to deceive you.
And in any case, he's
going to be married.
He's getting married?
With a girl from Barbonos
Street.
Oh really?
But to avoid further
trouble,
shall stop going to
the window.
ONE SECRET FOR ANOTHER
I was thinking of coming to
visit you if you delayed another day.
-Are you all right?
-Yes.
You seem so distracted.
You should disguise it.
I too am distracted but
I keep myself in check.
So I seem...
Yes, sometimes you don't listen,
gazing into nothing.
Disguise it, Santiago.
I have my reasons.
I doubt anyone becomes distracted
for no reason.
Escobar...
What is it?
You're my friend, and
I'm your friend too.
And here at the seminary you're
the person who has most penetrated
my heart.
Outside, apart from
my family,
I don't really have
a friend.
If I said the same thing
it wouldn't sound right...
as if I was just repeating you.
But I don't care about that.
Can you keep a secret?
If you ask it is because you doubt
it, and in that case...
I'm sorry, it's just an expression.
I know how honest
you are...
I'll pretend I'm confessing
to a priest.
If you need absolution,
you have it.
Escobar, I'm here but
I cannot become a priest.
My people believe it and expect it,
but I cannot become a priest.
- Nor can I, Santiago.
- You too?
A secret for a secret.
I also have no intention
of finishing the course.
I want to go into commerce,
but say absolutely nothing...
this must remain
between us.
It's not that I'm not religious.
I am, but commerce is
my passion.
Is that all?
What else could be?
A person?
It must be a girl.
You cannot imagine the pleasure
confiding in him gave me.
It was as an additional happiness.
That young man's heart
who heard me, said I was right.
And I didn't tell him everything,
nor even the best part.
I didn't mention the combing episode,
for example.
Needless to say...
we returned to the subject
again and again.
Many times. I praised Capitu's
moral qualities.
I didn't touch on her physical graces,
nor did he ask about them.
I merely insinuated how favorable
it was to know her by sight.
Now it won't be possible,
Capitu will spend a few days
with a friend in Inv?lidos Street.
When she comes,
you can go.
But you can go before,
always.
Everyone at home liked
you very much.
And I liked everyone, but
one must make a distinction.
I confess that your mother is
an adorable lady.
Isn't she?
Yes, my mother was adorable.
Although she was forcing me
into a career I didn't wish...
I couldn't but sense
how adorable she was.
Like a saint.
It so happened that my absence was
soon tempered by Capitu's devotion.
My mother gradually became
convinced...
that the young lady would
make me happy.
Capitu was the angel
in the Scripture.
Capitu became the flower
of the house,
the morning sunshine,
the afternoon breeze,
the moon at night.
My mother felt her heart,
examined her eyes...
and my name lay between them
like a key to a future life.
A WORD
And why not go and see her?
Didn't you tell me that Sancha's
father offered you his house?
Yes.
If that's what you want.
Capitu should have
returned today...
to finish some work with me.
I'm sure her friend asked
to stay the night.
Maybe you'll become
sweethearts.
I didn't kill her because I had no
iron bar nor rope to hand,
no pistol nor dagger.
But the glance I gave her
if it could kill,
would have resolved the matter.
One of Providence's mistakes
was to give
man only arms and teeth
as weapons of attack,
and legs as weapons of escape
or defense.
Our eyes should be enough.
Cousin Justina escaped
mine.
I didn't escape the effects of
insinuation...
and on Sunday I hurried to
Inv?lidos Street.
-Sancha asked you to come.
-Is she worse?
No, sir, but she wishes
to speak to you.
Stay here for a while.
This is Sancha's nurse she won't
have another. I'll be right back.
Is it really you?
THE COUCH
Of all the items
of furniture only the couch
appeared to understand our situation.
That's my opinion:
the couch brings
together intimacy and
decorum...
two men sitting together
may debate the destiny
of the empire, and two women
the grace of a dress.
But a man and a women,
by an aberration...
in the laws of nature,
will speak of
nothing but
themselves.
Which is what we did.
I vaguely recall asking her if
she would be staying long there.
long there.
I don't know, the fever
seems to be receding, but...
I also recall, vaguely, that
I explained my visit to her...
with the utmost truth, that is,
that my mother had suggested it.
Your mother?
Then we shall be happy!
We'll be happy, Capitu,
we'll be happy!
Sancha is asking for you, Capitu.
THE PORTRAIT
- Has her fever worsened?
- No.
Send my regards to your mother
and cousin Justina.
See you soon.
All my feelings of envy
went with her.
How could Capitu control
herself so well...
She's a young lady.
but not I?
Now I saw her more often.
Each time I thought her
taller and fuller.
Her eyes seemed to have
a new reflection, and her mouth...
Is it really you?
Another empire.
Bento, do you think Capitu
is like this portrait?
It's of my deceased wife.
People who knew her say
the same thing.
Her features are similar,
especially her forehead...
and the eyes. As for the spirit,
they're like sisters.
Even her friendship
with Sancha.
Her mother was such
a friend to her.
In life there are such
strange...
similarities.
CALLED
Bento!
Bento!
Do you know my son
Manduca died?
-Died?
-Died...
half an hour ago,
to be buried tomorrow.
I sent word to
your mother,
and she did me the kindness
of sending a few flowers
for the coffin.
My poor son!
Want to see him?
Come on, see him, please.
Saying this isn't easy but I'd rather
sin through excess than too little.
I wanted to reply that
I didn't want to see Manduca...
and even made
a move to get away.
It wasn't fear,
perhaps on another occasion I'd have
gone in with ease, out of curiosity,
but now I was so
content!
To see a dead body on your way
back from your girlfriend.
Some things just don't go
together.
I don't blame the man.
To him, the most important thing
right then was his son.
But don't blame me, either.
To me, the most important
thing was Capitu.
The problem was, the two matters
converged in the same afternoon...
and the death of one came
putting its nose in the other.
If I'd passed by earlier or later,
if Manduca had waited a few hours.
Why die precisely half
an hour ago?
Any time is suitable
for death,
one can die perfectly well at six
or seven o'clock in the afternoon.
I let my body do whatever
it could...
and it ended up going in.
A FRIEND FOR A DEAD BODY
A friend can make up
for a dead body.
For around
5 minutes...
Escobar held my hand
in his...
as if he hadn't seen me
for months.
Will you dine with us?
That is what I came for.
The last time you were sick
and I didn't get the chance
to praise your great qualities
For the great education you gave
my good friend Santiago.
Escobar insisted with his fine manners,
the good examples...
the sweet and rare mother
heaven had given me.
Too kind.
I was just as content, as if
Escobar had been my own invention.
It's true. At the seminary,
everyone, priests, colleagues...
everyone only want
the best for your son.
You've found the kindest of
friends, Bento. Utterly polite!
Kind or not, let's hurry with
this compote and to backgammon!
And cousin Justina couldn't
find a single defect.
Later, yes, on the second or third
Sunday she came and confessed
that my friend Escobar...
was rather haughty and
had policeman's eyes
which missed
nothing!
They're just his eyes,
cousin Justina.
I'm not saying they're
anyone else's.
They're thoughtful eyes.
Certainly.
However, there may be some
truth in what Dona Justina says.
One doesn't contradict the other.
Thoughtfulness goes perfectly
well with curiosity.
He seems curious,
certainly, but...
To me he seems to be
a very serious young man.
Precisely!
Your mother is a fine looking
lady, so youthful.
What age must she be?
Over 40.
Not possible! Forty years old?
She doesn't look 30!
She looks so young and pretty.
No wonder God gave
you such fine eyes.
Has she been a widow
for long?
ARITHMETIC IDEAS
There are useless letters and
dispensable ones.
What's the difference
between "d" and "t"?
They have almost
the same sound.
the same with b and p...
the same with k and g...
Mistakes of calligraphy.
Now take numbers: no two provide
the same service.
4 is 4, 7 is 7.
And just admire the beauty with which
a 4 and a 7 together form this thing
expressed as 11 .
Now double it and you'll have 22.
But the zero, the zero has an
even greater perfection.
The value of zero is, by itself,
nothing...
but the job of this negative sign
is actually to increase.
A 5 alone is just a 5.
Add two zeros, you'll have 500.
So that which is worth nothing
can make something be worth...
a great deal, not the case
with double letters.
One "p" or two make no difference.
For instance, give me a bunch
of numbers I didn't know...
and have no way of knowing.
Give me the number of your mother's
houses and the rents...
of each and if I can't add
them up in two,
in one minute,
then hang me!
I'll take the bet!
Consider that there were
no fewer than 9 houses...
and that the rents varied
from 70 to 180 thousand r?is.
It all adds up to 1 conto
and 70 mil r?is a month!
All this I'd spend 3 or 4 minutes
working out on paper...
on paper and
Escobar did it in his head.
Right?
Easily.
This proves that arithmetical
ideas are simpler...
and therefore more natural.
Nature is simple.
Art...
is clumsy.
Escobar discreetly squeezed
my hand so strongly...
that my fingers hurt to this day....
That's just an illusion, I'm sure,
it must be the effect of the long
endless hours I've been sitting
...writing.
Let us rest the pen for
a few moments.
THE POPE
Now it's certain, you'll soon
be out of the seminary.
Wait till tomorrow.
The idea is so saintly that
no sanctuary can resist it.
Tomorrow, Bento.
But is it certain?
Utterly certain!
He revealed a mystery to me.
According to him, my mother
regretted
what she did, and
wanted me out of there...
but understood that the vow's moral
bond held her irredeemably to it.
So the two of us would go to Rome
to appeal to the Pope for absolution.
What do you think?
I say no more, for the chapter
must be finished...
but he didn't finish the speech,
saw my mother's relieved soul
I saw Capitu's happy soul.
You'll forget me completely.
- Never!
- You'll forget.
If Capitu thought it too far,
I wouldn't go.
They say Europe is so pretty,
and especially Italy.
Isn't that where the soprano
singers come from?
I had to listen to her.
Is there no other way?
Dona Gl?ria is anxious for you
to leave the seminary.
Yes, but she thinks she is
trapped by the vow.
Swear that if you go you'll
return in six months?
I swear.
-By God's name?
-By God's name, by everything.
I swear that in six months
I'll be back.
What if the Pope hasn't
yet released you?
I'll say he has.
And what if you lie?
A SUBSTITUTE
I believe in you, in your oath.
But perhaps there is
another solution.
Think about it.
And Escobar.
No, Bento.
Your mother made a vow to give
God a priest, right?
Then give Him a priest
other than yourself.
She could very well take in
a little orphan boy
have him ordained
at her expense...
and a priest will be given to the
altar, without your having...
I understand! That's right!
Consult the protonotary.
He'll say whether it comes to the same
thing I'll consult him myself.
And if he hesitates, speak
to the bishop.
Yes, that must be it.
Truly, the vow is fulfilled
there be no loss of priest.
On the economic side it is easy, your
mother would spend the same as on you,
an orphan would require
the same comfort.
She has a good income.
One conto and seventy
thousand r?is...
There is no other solution.
-And we get out together.
-You too?
Yes. I'm going to improve
my Latin and then leave.
Forget theology.
Even Latin, what use will
that be in commerce?
In hoc signo vinces.
Under this symbol ye
shall triumph!
THE DEPARTURE
My mother hesitated a little,
but yielded in the end...
after Father Cabral, who consulted
the bishop...
came back and told her it could be.
I left the seminary
at the end of the year.
I was then just over 17.
I turned 18, 19,
20, 21.
At 22 I was
a law graduate.
Everything around me
changed.
My mother decided
to age.
Even so her hair only
turned gray reluctantly.
Uncle Cosme had heart trouble
and cousin Justina
was just older.
Jos? Dias too, but not enough
to miss coming to see me...
graduate and drive down
the mountains with me...
jolly and affectionate as
if he were the graduate.
Capitu's mother had died, and
her father had retired.
Escobar began trading
coffee.
Cousin Justina was of
the opinion that he was toying...
with the idea of asking
my mother to remarry.
But if he did have such an idea,
one mustn't forget
the great difference in age.
Our separation didn't cool
our friendship...
Escobar was the third party in the
correspondence between me and Capitu.
Ever since he saw her he
encouraged me greatly in our love.
And Escobar married...
guess who?
He married the lovely Sancha,
Capitu's friend,
almost sister,
in fact once...
writing to me, she called her
"your little sister-in-law".
Thus are affections and relationships
formed...
and adventures and books.
My little Bento!
This is your son!
Son, this is your mother!
Brother Cosme, look.
Isn't he just like his father?
Yes, there really is something
in the eyes, his facial features.
He's his father,
a little more modern.
Now tell me, sister Gl?ria, wasn't
it better that he insisted on...
not becoming a priest?
This rascal would never
make an able priest.
Bento!
Dr. Bento Santiago!
My mother kissed me with
a tenderness I can hardly describe.
Uncle Cosme, to cheer her up,
called me "Doctor"...
as did Jos? Dias and everyone
at the house, the cousin, slaves.
THOU SHALT BE HAPPY, BENTO
Thou shalt be happy, Bento.
- And why wouldn't you be happy?
- Did you hear?
Hear what?
A voice saying I'd be
happy?
That's good! You yourself
said it.
I could still swear it was
the voice of a fairy.
Naturally fairies, expelled from
tales and verses...
have penetrated
our hearts and
now speak from within.
This one I hear clearly and distinctly.
She must be a cousin of the
Witches of Scotland:
Thou shalt be king, Macbeth!
"Thou shalt be happy, Bento."
After all, it's the same
prophecy...
the same Universal and Eternal air.
You should be happy, you deserve it,
as you deserved this diploma.
And happiness isn't just glory,
it's also something else.
Oh! You didn't confide everything
to Jos? Dias!
Poor Jos? Dias is cast
aside,
a spent force, worth
nothing.
Now it is the young,
the Escobars...
well, anyway...
the old also know how
to love.
But what is it?
How do you mean?
That intimacy of neighbors had
to end up...
like this, which is truly a blessing
from heaven.
For she's an angel,
an utter angel.
Why is it she didn't also tell me
what the others knew...
and which is fully known
and approved here at home?
Mother really approves?
Quite so. We have spoken about it
and she was kind enough...
to ask my opinion.
I told her I couldn't wish for
a finer daughter-in-law...
kind, discreet, well-mannered,
our friend.
And a woman of the house.
Since her mother's death,
she has taken care of everything.
P?dua, now he's
retired...
receives his pension
and hands it over to his daughter.
It is Capitu who pays the bills,
draws up the list of expenses...
takes care of provisions,
everything!
And what about her good looks?
Ah, mon Dieu...
you know better than anyone.
Has mother consulted you
about our marriage?
Not exactly,
but she did ask whether
Capitu would make a good wife.
It was I, in my answer, who spoke
of a daughter-in-law.
Dona Gl?ria didn't contradict me
and even looked amused.
Thou shalt be happy, Bento!
-Thou shalt be happy, Bento!
-Thou shalt be happy, Bento!
My mother, some weeks later when
I went to ask her permission to marry,
as well as her consent,
pronounced the same prophecy.
You shall be happy, my son!
A mother's own version.
Then let us all be happy, before
the reader comes to his senses...
dead from waiting.
We were married! It was in 1865,
on a March afternoon.
In fact it was raining.
When we got up to Alto da Tijuca which
was where our newly-weds' nest was...
the sky gathered
in the rain and lit the stars.
Not only the familiar ones, but those
which would only be discovered
many centuries from now.
IN HEAVEN
Ye wives be in subjection
to your own husbands...
Whose adorning let it not be
that outward adorning of plaiting...
the hair, and of wearing of gold...
but let it be
the hidden man
of the heart.
I sit in the shadow of that
which I had so much desired.
Rest, for I shall not
attempt a description.
Not even the human tongue has
sufficient apt forms.
It is true that Capitu told me
that I was the only lace...
and only adornment
she would wear.
To which I responded that
my spouse would always have...
the finest lace
in the world.
No external sign revealed
the march of time.
Thus was our week
in Tijuca.
A MARRIED WOMAN
Sometimes we returned
to the past...
and enjoyed
recalling sad times and
calamities.
What is it?
I enjoy recalling our
teenage years...
I was remembering Jos? Dias.
He conspired against our union
and in the end celebrated our bond.
All began with
his accusation.
When will we go back to town?
Have you already grown tired of me?
- Me?
- It would appear so.
You always have to be such
a child, Bento.
So I've waited so many years
to grow tired in 7 days?
No, Bento, I said that
because...
I think perhaps the others
might like to see us
and be wondering if we're ill...
and I confess that, for my part,
I'd like to see father.
- Then we'll go tomorrow.
- No!
The weather must
be cloudy.
Once or twice, we spoke
of returning...
but the mornings were
always either rainy or sunny...
and we waited for a cloudy day,
which refused to appear.
Then we'll go tomorrow.
No.
The weather must be cloudy.
But our impatience continued, and
we returned on a sunny day.
The joy with which she put on
her married woman's hat...
the married woman's way in which
she gave me her hand to get in...
and out of the car, and
her arm to walk on the street...
All this showed me that
the cause of Capitu's impatience...
had been for the external
signs of our new marital status.
It wasn't enough to be married
within four walls.
She needed the rest of
the world too.
I'd invent outings so
I'd been seen and envied.
On the street, many curious
folk turned their heads...
others stopped,
a few asked:
Who are they?
One knowledgeable person explained:
"That's Dr. Santiago...
who a few days ago married
that young lady, Dona Capitolina."
She's a fine filly!
Filly is vulgar.
Jos? Dias found a better one.
HAPPINESS HAS A GOOD SOUL
He was the only person to visit
us during those days in Tijuca...
bringing greetings from
our families and his own words...
but words which were pure music.
I don't set them down here in order
to save paper, but they were delicious.
One day, he compared us
to two birds raised in nooks
on neighboring rooftops.
You can imagine the rest,
the birds ruffling their feathers...
and flying up into the sky!
Music!