The War of the End of the World

Months later, the baron has withdrawn from public life. Estela has lost her mind, Canudos is destroyed, and Gonçalves is governor. One day the baron has a visitor: the nearsighted journalist. He seems far older. He wants a job at the baron’s paper, partly in order to pay for the Dwarf, who he says saved his life with his stories, to be treated for tuberculosis. But the journalist has also returned for another reason: because people are forgetting Canudos. He intends to write about it, and the baron reminds him that he used to want to be a poet or dramatist. He has already read all that’s available and demands the baron tell him everything he knows.

Flashing back to Canudos, after the victory against the Seventh Regiment, Abbot João and Catarina awake and make love. They discuss the bravery of the Mirandela Indians, who assisted in the battle. No missionaries had managed to preach to them; but when the Counselor appeared, they listened. Later, a large group moved to Canudos. As João heads through the streets to meet Antônio Vilanova, he overhears the Dwarf recounting one of his favorite tales, and detours to listen.