Leaving São Luís as a child for Lisbon, Raimundo traveled an orphan of his father, a former Portuguese merchant, and estranged from his mother, Domingas, a former slave of his father.
After years in Europe, Raimundo returns to Brazil with a degree. He spends a year in Rio and decides to return to São Luís to see his tutor and uncle, Manuel Pescada.
Well received by his uncle's family, Raimundo soon awakens the attention of his cousin Ana Rosa, who at one point declares her love for him.
This reciprocated passion, however, encounters three obstacles: that of the father, who wanted his daughter married to one of the shop clerks; that of the grandmother Maria Bárbara, a racist and ill-tempered woman; and that of Canon Diogo, a regular at the house and a natural adversary of Raimundo.
All three knew of Raimundo's Black origins. And Canon Diogo was the most determined to prevent the union, as he had been responsible for the young man's father's death.
It happened like this: after Raimundo was born, his father, José Pedro da Silva, married Quitéria Inocência de Freitas Santiago, a white woman. Suspecting the particular attention José Pedro paid to little Raimundo and the slave Domingas, Quitéria ordered the Black woman to be whipped and her genitals burned.
Desperate, José Pedro takes his son and brings him to his brother's house in São Luís. Back on the farm, imagining Quitéria still taking refuge in her mother's house, José Pedro hears voices in his room. Breaking in, the farmer surprises Quitéria and the then Father Diogo in the act of adultery. Dishonored, Raimundo's father kills Quitéria, with Diogo as a witness. Due to the guilt of adultery and the guilt of homicide, a pact of complicity is formed between them. Faced with this further misfortune, José Pedro abandons the farm, retreats to his brother's house, and falls ill. Some time later, having recovered, José Pedro decides to return to the farm, but halfway there, he is ambushed and killed. On the other hand, little by little, Father Diogo had also begun to insinuate himself into Manuel Pescada's house.
Raimundo was unaware of all this.
In São Luís, now an adult, his basic concern is to unravel his origins, and therefore he insists with his uncle on visiting the farm where he was born. During the journey to São Brás, Raimundo begins to discover the first details about his origins and insists that his uncle grant him Ana Rosa's hand. After several refusals, Raimundo learns that the reason for the prohibition was due to the color of his skin.
Back in São Luís, Raimundo moves out of his uncle's house, decides to return to Rio, confesses his love to Ana Rosa in a letter, but ends up not traveling.
Despite the prohibitions, Ana Rosa and he arrange an escape plan. However, the main letter was intercepted by an accomplice of Canon Diogo, the clerk Dias, an employee of Manuel Pescada and a strong suitor, always rejected, for Ana Rosa's hand.
At the moment of escape, the lovers are surprised. The scandal erupts, of which the canon is the great conductor. Raimundo retreats in desolation, and as he opens the house door, a shot hits him in the back. With a weapon lent to him by Canon Diogo, the clerk Dias murders his rival.
Ana Rosa has a miscarriage.
However, six years later, we see her leaving an official reception, arm in arm with Mr. Dias and worried about the 'three little children who stayed at home, sleeping'.
Leaving São Luís as a child for Lisbon, Raimundo traveled an orphan of his father, a former Portuguese merchant, and estranged from his mother, Domingas, a former slave of his father.
After years in Europe, Raimundo returns to Brazil with a degree. He spends a year in Rio and decides to return to São Luís to see his tutor and uncle, Manuel Pescada.
Well received by his uncle's family, Raimundo soon awakens the attention of his cousin Ana Rosa, who at one point declares her love for him.
This reciprocated passion, however, encounters three obstacles: that of the father, who wanted his daughter married to one of the shop clerks; that of the grandmother Maria Bárbara, a racist and ill-tempered woman; and that of Canon Diogo, a regular at the house and a natural adversary of Raimundo.
All three knew of Raimundo's Black origins. And Canon Diogo was the most determined to prevent the union, as he had been responsible for the young man's father's death.
It happened like this: after Raimundo was born, his father, José Pedro da Silva, married Quitéria Inocência de Freitas Santiago, a white woman. Suspecting the particular attention José Pedro paid to little Raimundo and the slave Domingas, Quitéria ordered the Black woman to be whipped and her genitals burned.
Desperate, José Pedro takes his son and brings him to his brother's house in São Luís. Back on the farm, imagining Quitéria still taking refuge in her mother's house, José Pedro hears voices in his room. Breaking in, the farmer surprises Quitéria and the then Father Diogo in the act of adultery. Dishonored, Raimundo's father kills Quitéria, with Diogo as a witness. Due to the guilt of adultery and the guilt of homicide, a pact of complicity is formed between them. Faced with this further misfortune, José Pedro abandons the farm, retreats to his brother's house, and falls ill. Some time later, having recovered, José Pedro decides to return to the farm, but halfway there, he is ambushed and killed. On the other hand, little by little, Father Diogo had also begun to insinuate himself into Manuel Pescada's house.
Raimundo was unaware of all this.
In São Luís, now an adult, his basic concern is to unravel his origins, and therefore he insists with his uncle on visiting the farm where he was born. During the journey to São Brás, Raimundo begins to discover the first details about his origins and insists that his uncle grant him Ana Rosa's hand. After several refusals, Raimundo learns that the reason for the prohibition was due to the color of his skin.
Back in São Luís, Raimundo moves out of his uncle's house, decides to return to Rio, confesses his love to Ana Rosa in a letter, but ends up not traveling.
Despite the prohibitions, Ana Rosa and he arrange an escape plan. However, the main letter was intercepted by an accomplice of Canon Diogo, the clerk Dias, an employee of Manuel Pescada and a strong suitor, always rejected, for Ana Rosa's hand.
At the moment of escape, the lovers are surprised. The scandal erupts, of which the canon is the great conductor. Raimundo retreats in desolation, and as he opens the house door, a shot hits him in the back. With a weapon lent to him by Canon Diogo, the clerk Dias murders his rival.
Ana Rosa has a miscarriage.
However, six years later, we see her leaving an official reception, arm in arm with Mr. Dias and worried about the 'three little children who stayed at home, sleeping'.
