The Power of Women
Though
men are often portrayed in literature as the stronger of the sexes, Machado’s
short story, “The Rod of Justice,” illuminates a heightened sense of women’s power
through their use of manipulation, threats, and violence. The male protagonist,
Damiao, is helpless as he escapes from the seminary with nowhere to go and
dismisses the thought of asking his godfather for help because he “has no will
of his own” (972). Both Damiao and his godfather Joao are portrayed as weak and
unable to think on their own. Damiao seeks the help of his godfather’s widowed mistress,
Sinha Rita, who works to provide for herself and owns many slaves. Though she
is very kind to Damiao, she is verbally abusive toward her young female slaves,
ordering one, “Get along darky,” (913) and threatening the young and sickly
Lucretia with the rod simply for laughing. She is “fierce as the devil” (913)
and unnecessarily brutal in her treatment of her slaves, but her orders are always
obeyed, thus her power is indisputable.
Instead
of name-calling or using threats of violence to convince her lover to plead
with Damiao’s father to accept his son’s leaving the seminary, Sinha Rita uses
her power of manipulation. She confidently orders Joao to go and threatens to
end their relationship if he disobeys her. Despite great fear of Damiao’s
raging father, Sinha Rita demonstrates her power over him as he continues to
try to honor her wishes.
Sinha
Rita’s power over the other characters appears to have no boundary. Despite Damiao’s
sympathy for Lucretia and his inner conflict over how to proceed when faced
with the opportunity to save her, Damiao ultimately obeys Sinha Rita and hands
her the rod to beat the girl. Sinha Rita
has absolute power and the males in the story are comparable to the female
slaves who are equally powerless against her. She uses her mind and body to
enslave others and demand ultimate authority, and in this sense, the story
challenges the traditionally held views of women as subservient to men.
Work Cited
Machado
de Assis, Joaquim Maria. “The Rod of Justice.” The Norton Anthology of
World
Literature.
Ed. Martin Puchner. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. 911-916. Print.
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