Father Against Mother

One of Machado de Assis’s most brilliant works, Pai contra mãe [Father Against Mother], originally published in 1906, paints a harsh portrait of Brazilian society at the time, exposing the raw realities of slavery, misery and violence experienced by Black and poor people in Brazil. The short story sketches the narrative of those who live in the cogs of oppression of a capitalist system of slavery, with racial and gender violence that persist to this day, in the 21st Century.

This edition, illustrated by a series of paintings by Rio de Janeiro artist Márcia Falcão, created specially for the book, also includes a new essay by professor and researcher José Fernando Peixoto de Azevedo, and another by journalist and writer Bianca Santana, and features in its jacket copy commentary by journalist Tiago Rogero, creator of the Querino project, according to whom “Machado doesn’t just expose the many forms of torture naturalized by the ‘good old Brazilian folk’, but particularly the fact that, at the time — and to this day — an African or African-Brazilian person was — and still is — a second-class citizen in Brazil. A life of less worth, that often isn't even allowed to be born.”

About the author
Machado de Assis was a journalist, short story author, novelist, poet and playwright. He was born at the Morro do Livramento, in Rio de Janeiro, in June 21st 1839, and passed away in the same city, on September 29th 1908. He published his first poetry collection, Crisálidas, in 1864, and his first novel, Resurrection, in 1872. He was a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines at the time, such as O Cruzeiro, A Estação and Revista Brasileira, where he published chronicles, short stories, poems, and novels, which were first distributed as serialized fiction, before being collected into books. That’s how he first published The Hand and the Glove (1874), Epitaph of a Small Winner (1880), Philosopher or Dog? (1886-1891), among other works. 1881, with the publication of Epitaph of a Small Winner as a bound novel, marks the start of his realist phase, which includes his better-known works: Philosopher or Dog?, Dom Casmurro, Esau and Jacob, and Counselor Ayres’ Memorial. In 1897, he was elected president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, a position which he occupied for over ten years. The institution, that Machado helped start in the previous year, became known as Machado de Assis House. In 1906, he published Relíquias da casa velha, a short story and theater collection, featuring Father Against Mother. In 2020, Cobogó published a special edition of his book The Psychiatrist, illustrated by the artist Rivane Neuenschwander.

About the artist
Márcia Falcão was born in 1985 in Rio de Janeiro and raised in Irajá, and she still lives and works in the Rio de Janeiro suburbs. Based on her own experiences, the artist’s figurative paintings present expressive representations of the female body, underlining the complexity of the social context in which it’s placed, traversed by a dubiously beautiful and violent landscape. Femininity, motherhood, beauty standards and gendered violence are recurring themes in her work, marked by gestures and physicality. In 2022, she had her first solo showcase in São Paulo, at Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, expanding upon the show at Carpintaria, in Rio de Janeiro, in 2021. Among her main collective exhibitions, some highlights are: Parábola do Progresso (2022), Sesc Pompeia, São Paulo; MAR + Enciclopédia Negra (2022), Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro; Crônicas Cariocas (2021), Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janeiro; Engraved into the Body (2021), Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, among others. The series of paintings illustrating this edition was created specially for the book.

Specifications
Title Pai contra mãe [Father Against Mother]
Author Machado de Assis
Supplementary material Bianca Santana and José Fernando Peixoto de Azevedo
Jacket copy Tiago Rogero
Illustration Márcia Falcão
Language Portuguese
Page count 72
ISBN 978-65-5691-088-8
Cover and design Bloco Gráfico
Format Softcover
Size 13,8 x 19 cm
Year 2022