Dom Casmurro Chapter 10

THE THEORY ACCEPTED

There is no doubt that that is too heavy a dose of metaphysics for one single tenor, but his loss of voice explains everything, and if the truth were known there are philosophers who are no more than out-of-work tenors.

To my friendly reader I confess that I accept old Marcolini’s theory, not only for its plausibility, which is often the whole story, but because it so perfectly fits the events of my own life. First I sang a tender duet, then a trio, then a quartet … But let us not be too precipitate. Let us start at the beginning when I discovered that I could sing, for José Dias’s accusation, dear reader, was directed principally to me. It was to myself that it was addressed.