Gender

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, known as Machado, is considered one of Brazil’s greatest writers. Being black in a time when slavery was still legal in Brazil, Machado had little formal education, except for “listening in to lessons at a girls’ school where his stepmother worked in the kitchen” (Puchner, 910). In his short story “The Rod of Justice”, he tells the story of a young man, Damiao, who has run away from the seminary where he was placed by his father, to the home of Sinha Rita. Sinha Rita is a powerful woman who has the ear of the boy’s godfather and the one person he believes can save him from a horrible life in the seminary.

Sinha Rita uses her female gender and sexual power to become the most impressive character in “The Rod of Justice”. Her power over the men in the story is mental, preying on their need for both a mother figure and a temptress. Sinha Rita considers herself a contender among these men while she deems the only other female characters in the story, her slaves, to be the least worthy of her consideration until it is time for her to inflict physical distress upon them. While it is never fully explained why she holds so much power of the men in this story, Sinha Rita is loved and feared by them all.

Damiao fears his father and has determined his godfather to be “a soft muttonhead”. While both of these men in the story exude some power over the young man, his godfather’s mistress “who is eager to show her power over both her lover and her slaves” (Puchner, 911) proves to be the most formidable. Sinha Rita is wealthy and owns many female slaves, including a sickly young girl Lucretia, who she constantly threatens with the rod. The mistress asserts her authority over the men with her words and threats of snubbing them; Sinha Rita affirms her supremacy over the slave girls with threats of violence.

When Sinha Rita ask Damiao why he does not entreat his godfather, her lover Joao Carneiro, to approach his father about letting him leave the seminary, he tells her that he does not think he will pay any attention to him. In reply, she retorts “Well, I’ll show him whether he’ll pay attention or not…” (Assis, 913). Indeed she does show him when she meets with Joao. Assis writes “his chest heaved, the eyes he turned upon Sinha Rita were full of supplication, mixed with a mild gleam of censure” (Assis, 914). The mistress is brandishing her sexual power over Joao when she threatens “Joaozinho, either you rescue this boy, or we never see each other again” (Assis, 916).

The underlying theme in this story is Damiao’s fascination with the delicate and sickly slave girl, Lucretia. Early in the story, when he makes the silent vow to protect her from the rod of Sinha Rita, it is expected that he will become her champion. However, this hope is squelched when it is realized that Sinha Rita is the only one with any authority in “The Rod of Justice”. Damiao has to choose between defying her to save Lucretia, or Sinha Rita’s support contingent on his remaining in her good graces; he chooses the latter, not wanting to disrupt his chances for Sinha Rita’s assistance.  When Lucretia begs Damiao to save her from her mistress’s beating, “he reached the settee, picked up the rod, and handed it to Sinha Rita”(Assis, 916).  Sinha Rita’s power over all is uncontested.

Works Cited:

De Assis, Joaquim Maria Machado. "The Rod of Justice." The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 1650 to Present. New York: W.W Norton & Company, 2013. 911-916. Print.

Puchner, Martin. "Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis 1839-1908." The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 1650 to Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 910-911. Print.