Pressured by his father's insistence that he make something of himself, Brás Cubas finds himself forced to avoid social obscurity, analyzed in this article in addition to the hesitant social and political ambition he displays—an ambition that is emblematic of affluent families that compete among themselves to guarantee their social position in the rigid Brazilian society of the 19th century. Despite all the opportunities he enjoyed through the conveniences and open doors that his family's property afforded him, Brás was unable to achieve absolute success in any endeavor he ventured into. His explicitly stated melancholy confirms, on the one hand, a personal career of disappointments. With proud detachment, on the other hand, he announces the pleasure gained in not having had to work for a living and, more importantly, not having passed on "our misery." This article will demonstrate textually Brás's failures and indicate the sociocultural condition that imprisons him: To be born black into a slavocrat, racist society.
