Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- Born:
- June 21, 1839, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Died:
- September 29, 1908, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Nationality:
- Brazilian
- Profession(s):
- Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Short Story Writer, Literary Critic
Early Life and Education
- Born to a working-class family of mixed ancestry.
- Largely self-educated, having limited formal schooling.
- Learned French, English, and German, enabling him to translate and read a wide range of literature.
- Began his career as a typesetter and proofreader.
Career and Major Achievements
- Considered the greatest writer of Brazilian literature.
- A founder and the first president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (Academia Brasileira de Letras).
- Transformed Brazilian literature, moving away from Romanticism and embracing Realism and psychological depth.
- His works often explore themes of social inequality, human psychology, and the absurdity of life.
- Developed a unique narrative style characterized by irony, satire, and metafiction.
Notable Works
- Novels:
- Ressurreição (1872)
- A Mão e a Luva (1874)
- Helena (1876)
- Iaiá Garcia (1878)
- Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881)
- Quincas Borba (1891)
- Dom Casmurro (1899)
- Esaú e Jacó (1904)
- Memorial de Aires (1908)
- Short Story Collections:
- Contos Fluminenses (1870)
- Histórias da Meia-Noite (1873)
- Papéis Avulsos (1882)
- Histórias Sem Data (1884)
- Várias Histórias (1896)
- Páginas Recolhidas (1899)
Legacy and Impact
Machado de Assis's impact on Brazilian and world literature is immense. His novels, particularly Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas and Dom Casmurro, are considered masterpieces of psychological realism and are studied worldwide. Analyses of capas de livros machado de assis biography often highlight the evolution of his style and the enduring relevance of his themes.