Clara Victoria: A Love Story in 19th-Century Brazil
The story takes place on a farm, amidst the gaucho culture of mid-nineteenth century Brazil. The central characters are the farmer and Major Antonio Eleuterio Fontes. The farmer keeps on his estate a small orchestra. While passing through his farm, two Indigenous missionaries, who are also musicians, delight the Major with their instruments. Increasingly interested in music, the Major builds up the orchestra and employs a miner known as “Maestro” as its leader. The orchestra is named Santa Cecilia Lira and is a source of dismay for D. Brígida, the Major’s wife. However, D. Brígida’s primary concern is arranging the marriage of her daughter, Clara Victoria.
Over time, the Santa Cecilia Lira becomes famous: concerts on the farm are crowded, and the orchestra even plays in Rio Pardo. The Major purchases new uniforms and increases the musicians’ salaries. Up to this point, the book is almost a chronicle, relatively mild, full of curiosities. Here, the knot of the plot appears: Clara Victoria, the only daughter, who was promised in marriage to Silvestre Pimentel, nephew and possible heir of a neighboring farmer, is in love with the Maestro.
A Forbidden Love
In retrospect, the work shows Clara Victoria’s clear victory, as she posed, even unwillingly, the future wife of Silvestre Pimentel. She made nocturnal visits to the Maestro’s quarters, spending the night there and returning to her room shortly before dawn. The tension of the work increases when Clara finds herself pregnant. She hides it from everyone as long as possible, but after visiting the midwife, she realizes it is no longer possible to terminate the pregnancy.
At an orchestra performance, Clara falls ill. The vicar suspects something and, upon pressing the girl, she confesses. The priest had already suspected something, but did not think that the story involved the Maestro. He calls Silvestre to hasten the wedding. The groom hesitates. He goes to the farm with the same proposal, which is immediately rejected by the Major. Eventually, D. Brígida discovers: “You’re pregnant!”
Tragedy and Exile
The Major, D. Brígida, and the family assume that the father of the unborn child is Silvestre Pimentel. The Major goes to Silvestre’s house to kill him. Silvestre tries to talk, but the Major fires, hitting the ex-boyfriend. He returns home and tells D. Brígida that he killed the young man. Later, it turns out that Silvestre had only been wounded.
Antonio Eleuterio makes drastic decisions: he expels Clara Victoria from home, forcing her to live alone in “the abyss”; he prohibits anyone, except the foreman, from approaching the site, even maintaining an armed guard; he forbids anyone from speaking Clara’s name in his residence. D. Brígida is distraught; the Major spends his days alone, quiet, and even disbands the Santa Cecilia Lira orchestra. The Maestro, unable to see Clara, leaves the farm and goes to Porto Alegre.
Clara lives lonely, exiled in the abandoned camp, living with herself, with the nature around her, and with images of the past, confused in her mind. Aided only by the maid, Clara has her baby: it is a girl.
A Glimmer of Hope and a Tragic End
In a magical moment, the Maestro rediscovers the score of a song he composed for Clara. He plays a part in the Mass in Porto Alegre, horrifying the Bishop. Fired, he returns with Rossini and the other musicians to the Major’s estate. The resurrection of the Santa Cecilia Lira revives the Major. But Antonio Eleuterio is now definitely disturbed. He orders a concert in which he is the only audience member. He fights with his wife, who decides to abandon him. In the midst of a rainstorm, in the presence of the vicar, seeing his world collapsing, he commits suicide.
Reunion
The conductor returns to the “abyss”. Happy ending: She went to the bank, took off her clothes, and bathed. She was there, half-submerged in the refreshing delight of the afternoon, when she felt someone approaching her through the water. And she immediately knew who he was, and would always know from then on, despite the years: she didn’t need to cover herself, nor run in shame; she simply opened her arms and surrendered to the first of all the kisses of her long life.