Machado de Assis’s view of politics is a controversial topic. Since the late nineteenth century, critics have diverged on the degree and nature of the Brazilian writer’s political engagement, as registered in his crônicas, short stories, and novels. I begin my essay with a review of the most important critical works that touch upon this theme, and propose that Machado often comments on politics in his fiction, but that he does so in a subtle, indirect manner. In this essay, I focus on Machado’s novel Esaú e Jacó, and argue that the metafictional observations that abound in this novel can be applied not only to fictional narratives, but also to political discourse. I interpret these metafictional comments as Machado’s strategy to highlight the partial and subjective quality of political discourse. Finally, I analyze the protagonists of the novel, the twins Pedro and Paulo, as symbols of the paradoxical nature of human beings and, by extension, the instability of individual political opinions.
"Wolfenstein II" and MAGA as fandom
