When the narrator, a writer arrives at Gafeira,
he is shocked to learn of the tragedy surrounding the Palma Bravo family. So many versions, so much
innuendo, nothing fits. Some years back the Writer
had been a guest of the Palma Bravo’s on a shoot. He had been the guest of
Tomás Manuel da Palma Bravo, or the Delfim, the Lord of practically the entire
village of Gafeira. The unusual aspect of the village of Gafeira was its
centrally located mysterious lake which was most of the times shrouded in deep
mist. Nobody could understand why the Lake was shrouded in mist, why was it so
deep and mysterious? But there was one thing you could be sure about; there was
plenty of game in the deep forests surrounding the mysterious lake.
Tomás Manuel da Palma Bravo was
the undisputed Lord of Gafeira and he behaved like one. The first time the Writer saw him or rather
his powerful red Ferrari parked in the Church yard, guarded by a pair of
ferocious mastiffs. When Palma Bravo emerges from the Church so elegantly
dressed that all that the people surrounding him, but at a safe distance, can
do is gasp in sheer delight. On his arm the beautiful Maria das
Mercês so elegant, so very elegant that she seems to have stepped straight out from
the pages of Vogue. But all is not well with this elegant couple, as we know
appearances are sometimes very deceptive, there are no babies, no heirs to the
vast Palma Bravo estate.
Maria das Mercês in her loneliness broods all
the time, what went wrong? She the toast of the town marrying the most eligible
Tomás Manuel da Palma Bravo. Tomás Manuel
disappearing every night with ‘his Boy’ Domingos, a person who has a maimed
arm, and who he has supposedly rescued from a fate worse than Death.
But is Domingos happy in his new
life? Oh no, he hates it, all he wants is to be home, basking in front of a
fire when it is cold and windy outside. But it is not to be, Tomás Manuel,
drags him every night to the most exquisite Night Clubs Lisbon has to offer,
trying to ‘educate’ him in the arts of good living, pushing him to try new
experiences, new wines, maybe new women.
As most of Palma Bravo’s life,
his sexual preferences are hidden from the general public. Does he have a sexual
relationship with Domingos? We do not know. Is Maria das
Mercês incapable of having children? We do not know. Palma
Bravo’s life is cloaked in mystery as much as his Lake is shrouded in mist. But
one thing is certain Palma Brava treats his wife Maria das Mercês and
Domingos as his possessions to use and abuse at will much like he uses his
Ferrari, his guns or even his dogs.
And
then the tragic, catastrophic finale to the life of the Palma Bravo family. Domingos, is found dead in the Master Bedroom, in
Tomás Manuel and Maria das Mercês’ bed. Now what really happened? Was it
a ménage à trois gone completely
wrong?
Did
Domingos die of too much sex at the hands of his Mistress, Maria das Mercês,
who just could not restrain herself? All those pent-up emotions coming to the
fore. Whatever happened we will never know.
Strangely,
Maria das Mercês clad only in a nightgown is found dead entangled in the roots
of some plants at the bottom of the mysterious Lake. She was supposedly trying
to drown herself in the sea but the Mystical Lake got her first. But why was
she trying to commit suicide? Did she really want to die? Questions and more
questions, with the very Rich prevarication is oh so common.
Look
at Tomás Manuel’s behaviour, he hops into one of
his Ferrari’s and flees. What was his role in the sordid occurrence? Was it a
murder-murder? A suicide-murder pact? Who knows. We are left enshrouded in deep
Mystery, conspiracy theories abound, innuendo moved from person to person,
every person in the village with his own version. But the truth as we all would
want to know, lies hidden, covered in mist.
As ‘O Delfim’ was written during the regime of
the Portuguese dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, the book could and is probably
multi-layered, the main narrative of Tomás Manuel
Palma Bravo’s behaviour as well as the events that followed an allegorical
point of view.
The
stagnant lake, Portugal where everything stands still, nothing moving, nothing
entering, everything stagnant. No progress, during the regime of the dictator
and to some extent even now.
Those
many symbols alluding to murkier meanings. Every scene, many objects, and the animals
pointing to deeper meanings, mystery laced with mystery.
And the most pertinent question is there a
deeper meaning? Or is it a straightforward story of the Palma Bravo clan?
José Cardoso Pires
Origins and
formative influences
Born in the village of São João do Peso, municipality of Vila
de Rei, Castelo Branco district. Many of the memories Cardoso Pires
recounts are interesting with egard of the themes of his writing and his style
as a novelist.
Although he was born in the interior, Cardoso Pires was very much a man
of Lisbon, the speech patterns and urban spaces of which can be felt in both
his novels and short stories. His father was in the merchant navy and
his mother was a homemaker.
Some of his paternal family had immigrated to Massachusetts, and this
vague American connection seems to have been one of the early reasons for
Cardoso Pires' receptiveness to American literary styles at a time when
Portugal looked to France, and to some extent Brazilian regionalism of the
North East, for its narrative models.
In a documentary produced for Portuguese television, Cardoso Pires
describes seeking refuge in cinemas as a youth, and the effect that had on his
notion of story-telling. He explains how, after seeing a film, he would have to
recount it to his peers at school - a common practice at the time. He also
mentions the formative role of cinceclubes, or film societies. The
generally left-leaning associations, in Cardoso Pires's words,
"contributed to the political and social education of many people, Cardoso
Pires studied mathematics at the University of Lisbon, where he
published his first short narratives, but left school to join the merchant
marine, from which he was discharged for disciplinary problems.
The writing years
After his short stint in the Portuguese Navy, Cardoso Pires started
working as a journalist and devoted himself to writing. As an author, he has
been perceived as being able to reconcile popularity with critical acclaim.
This can be partly explained by his adoption of some of the narrative formulae
of detective fiction and his controlled use of the Portuguese language, which
Cardoso Pires described as "pared down to the bone, written with the
edge of a knife". Cardoso Pires's fiction has often been described as
cinematic. This is often a nebulous term, but in Cardoso Pires's case it has
been justified by Luso-Brazilian critic Maria Lúcia Lepecki as an attempt to
allow the reader to see and hear through words.
He taught Portuguese and Brazilian literature at King's
College, London.
In 1995, he suffered a stroke, the experience of which formed the
background for his final novel De Profundis, Valsa Lenta. He died
of another stroke in 1998
His works include among others:
Os Caminheiros e Outros Contos 1949
O Anjo Ancorado 1958
Jogos de Azar 1963
Delfim (The Dauphin; 1968)
O Dinosauro Excelentíssimo 1972
O Burro em Pé 1979
A Balada de Praia dos Cães (1982; Ballad of Dogs’ Beach : Dossier of a Crime,
translated by Mary Fitton. New York :
De Profundis, Valsa Lenta 1997
Lisboa Livro de Bordo 1997
