Dom Casmurro

The home is a central motif representing the domestic realm and highlighting the significance of family in Bento’s life. The central conflict of the story takes place within the family home that Bento has created between his own family and that of his friend Escobar, whom he suspects of betrayal with his wife. The home thus becomes not only a physical setting, but also the embodiment of the psychological drama of jealousy and suspicion that Bento experiences.

Bento’s home in Engenho Novo is also symbolically significant. Bento’s current residence at the novel’s end is a faithful replica of his childhood home on Matacavallos street. The house symbolizes both Bento’s nostalgia for his own past and his more generalized nostalgia for Brazil’s past imperial era, as reflected in its elaborate decorations and imperial medallions. In trying to recreate his childhood home as exactly as possible, Bento also reveals a half-conscious desire to retrieve something of the innocence and happiness of his youth in the midst of his isolated old age. The symbolism of Bento’s home is further developed as it becomes a sanctuary, a retreat from the noise and restlessness of the external world. The tranquility within the walls of Engenho Novo sharply contrasts with the ever-changing outside reality, emphasizing the opposition between past and present.