I - The Novel
The rise of the bourgeoisie to power and the emergence of newspapers (the first appeared in 1808 in Rio de Janeiro) modified the public's taste for literature. The new mentality, less refined, less educated, and more pragmatic – focused on day-to-day problems – required a literary genre that could match its understanding and taste. The novel, which had been taking shape for some time (especially in Spain, England, and France), began to take its first steps in Brazil. From the initial serials published in newspapers by now-forgotten authors, we moved to the first more appropriate manifestations, soon celebrated by the public. Always attentive to the desires of the new public, the first novelists emerged. And with them, the first serials, among which is "A Luneta Mágica" (The Magic Spyglass) by Joaquim Manuel de Macedo.
II - Author
Joaquim Manuel de Macedo was born in Itaboraí (Rio de Janeiro) in 1820. He studied Medicine and, in the same year he graduated, 1844, he published "A Moreninha," which was highly appreciated by the public of the time. He was a journalist, secondary school teacher, playwright, and novelist, achieving literary prominence in the latter genre. In 1849, he founded the 'Revista Guanabara' (Guanabara Magazine) along with Gonçalves Dias and Araújo de Porto Alegre. He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1882.
Macedo is the creator of Brazilian fiction 'in form and style.' He studies female psychology, framing it within the emotional context of Romanticism. An excellent observer, he portrays the Rio de Janeiro bourgeoisie, reproducing their customs, quirks, and the mediocrity of their thinking.
His works, despite their variety, exhibit a flawed style and superficial psychological analysis of the characters, thus his main merit lies in being the introducer of fictional prose in Brazilian Romanticism.
Macedo also provided readers with two things that guaranteed his popularity: narratives with familiar, everyday settings and characters; and entangled, poetic adventures and sentiments, in line with the average need for dreams and adventure.
III - Plot
In the novel "A Luneta Mágica," Macedo tells us the story of Simplício, a young man suffering from a terrible ailment: double myopia.
Physical myopia: which prevents him from seeing or distinguishing anything within two inches of his eyes.
Moral myopia: which prevents him from understanding or distinguishing others' ideas or from aligning his own ideas. (He is a simpleton, naive, etc.)
Simplício was orphaned at 12 years old and, since then, has lived with his brother Américo, who manages his inheritance, with his devout Aunt Domingas, and with his cousin Anica. One day, despite his myopia, he was invited to serve on a jury. There he meets Mr. Nunes, who tells him about Reis, a glass grinder capable of solving his myopia problem.
After many attempts with lenses of the highest prescription, Reis realizes he cannot help Simplício; his myopia is too severe. Moved, however, by the young man's distress, he tells him about Armênio – an artist with magical abilities brought from Europe by Reis himself to work in his workshop.
Simplício's desire to see is so great that he ends up agreeing to visit Armênio. The latter promises him a magic spyglass but also warns him that he will soon be convinced that it is better to be blind than to see too much.
Thus, after much thought about everything Armênio had told him and consulting his family, Simplício meets the magician at the appointed time, at midnight. There, he witnesses the ritual of the spyglass's construction. After many lights, fireworks, and magical words, the magician finally hands him the magical object, but not before warning him about the spyglass's powers and dangers: Simplício should not fix it on any object or human being for more than 3 minutes, as he would then gain the vision of evil (revenge of the salamander trapped in the glass). Furthermore, he should not fix it on anything for more than 13 minutes, as this would be the vision of the future, and in that case, for his own protection, the spyglass would break.
Eager with the possibility of seeing, Simplício returns home and waits for dawn to try out the spyglass. Marveling at the sight of the dawn, he believes it impossible to see anything evil in this scene and therefore decides to fix his spyglass for more than 3 minutes. Suddenly, he is horrified by what he sees: '-My God!...how deceptive and false the dawn is!...and how ugly, terrible, and evil the sun is!!!'. He agrees with Armênio and says that the surface and appearances are enough; man's happiness lies in the illusions of the senses, in the soul's deceptions. He wants to be happy and therefore will no longer use the vision of evil. However, our naive young man cannot resist the vision of evil and begins to fix his spyglass on everything and everyone.
The vision of evil allows him to see the 'truth' about: his cousin Anica, a cold, unfeeling girl, a calculating woman, incapable of friendship, interested in marrying Américo or Simplício for their fortune; his brother Américo, an ambitious miser, robbing the family in managing their assets; Aunt Domingas, envious, gossipy, stingy, wishing for her daughter's marriage to Américo for the fortune,...
These discoveries leave Simplício horrified and disappointed, making him decide to seek a lawyer to manage his assets and a wife to form a new family. He seeks out Nunes to help him with his plans. However, upon fixing his spyglass on the old man, he discovers a charlatan and an opportunist.
A month passes, and he only finds disappointments; no one to trust, nothing to believe in. His friends are all self-serving exploiters; the girls are all false and impure.
Suddenly, the entire city talks about his madness, and he becomes persecuted and execrated everywhere. The family decides he is ill, locks him at home, and wants to destroy his spyglass. The visit of a doctor, however, prevents him from being declared mad. Everyone agrees that he has been deceived by magic and that with love and care he will overcome everything.
Still, Simplício does not surrender the spyglass and knows that, although he won't be considered mad, he will be seen as a maniac, so there is no salvation. He then decides that the only thing that can save him will be the vision of the future. He wants to know his future and therefore decides to fix the spyglass on himself (in the mirror) for more than 13 minutes. However, before reaching the vision of the future, he reaches the vision of evil and discovers himself to be an scoundrel, a slanderer, an enemy of the family, a man capable of cursing all of God's creations, a damned soul... Before reaching the vision of the future, the spyglass breaks in his hands.
Once again, Simplício finds himself in darkness, regretting having surpassed the vision of the surface and appearances. He now discovers himself with nothing, with no possibility of seeing.
After 8 days confined at home, he decides he can go out; people will have forgotten everything – 'No opinion activity withstands the extent, the eternity of eight days in our capital.'
During his walk, he meets Reis again, who tells him about Nunes' gossip and convinces him to seek out Armênio again. Thus, a new meeting is arranged, at midnight, in the magician's study.
Once more, Simplício witnesses the entire ritual of the new spyglass's construction and hears Armênio's warnings about the correct use of the lens. This time, if fixed for more than three minutes, it will grant him the vision of good.
Upon returning home, hopeful and happy with the possibility of seeing again, Simplício decides he will write to all the newspapers and talk about the wonders Armênio is capable of. He doesn't understand Reis's disbelief in magical potentials. He believes that Armênio can help many other people and therefore sees no reason to keep it a secret.
After questioning what harm could come from the vision of good, Simplício once again disobeys the magician and fixes his spyglass for more than three minutes. He begins by seeing his cousin Anica, an angel of innocence and candor; Aunt Domingas, devotion and piety personified; his brother Américo, pure fraternal dedication. '—I had the fever of happiness. The world and life celebrated my heart; I wanted to laugh, to have fun, to frolic.'
Amazed by the vision of good, he falls in love with his cousin Anica and thirty or so other girls, including Esmeralda, a well-known prostitute from the 'Alcazar Lírico'. He recognizes the goodness and purity of heart in everyone who approaches him; he helps everyone, pays for dinners, gives alms, contributes to charity funds through 'friends,' who are increasingly numerous. He meets Nunes again, visits his family, falls in love with his daughter, settles his debts. In short, he begins to be exploited and ridiculed by everyone without realizing it. When some try to warn him about what is happening, he becomes confused, as he discovers the truth from the mouths of these good souls, but he doesn't understand how this can be possible.
Once again desperate and anguished, he discovers that the vision of good is a torment. With his soul tormented, he witnesses a funeral and perceives the beauty, the happiness of death. He therefore decides that the best thing to do is to die. As he has no weapons or poison, nor the means to obtain them, he climbs to the top of Corcovado to throw himself from there. Before that, however, he thinks once about the vision of the future, takes one last look through the magic spyglass at the city, the capital of the Empire of Brazil. The thirteen minutes pass, and the spyglass breaks in his hands. Once again in darkness, Simplício does not hesitate and throws himself off the precipice... Two powerful hands, however, suspended him by the ears – it was Armênio.
After they talk about everything that had happened, the magician tells him about the lessons of the spyglasses:
'Exaggeration is lying.'
'In the world, there is good and evil, just as in life there is pleasure and pain.'
'But good is good, evil is evil as they are and cannot be otherwise for humanity which is imperfect: perfect good, absolute evil does not exist for it.'
'The imperfection and contingency of humanity are the only ideas that can found a certain judgment about all men... Each one is what he is, and each one has his qualities and his defects.'
After this conversation, Armênio decides to give him one last magic spyglass – The Spyglass of Common Sense. This time, however, Reis makes Simplício promise secrecy about the matter.
