MEMÓRIAS PÓSTUMAS DE BRÁS CUBAS IN FRENCH, THE NEGATIVE ROLE OF LATINITY

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show how the work of Machado de Assis arrived in France, looking at the 1910s and the context that made it possible to translate the greatest of his novels, Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas. It is argued that the concept of “Latinity” that prevailed at the time did not help the author's reception in the European country. In a second phase, around the centenary of Machado's birth in the 1930s, some intermediaries played a decisive role in changing this picture. Later, in the 1980s, a new translation of the novel and the efforts of a young publisher allowed Machado de Assis to be recognized in France as one of the greatest Brazilian writers.