Machado de Assis and the Tailcoat Gods

Reflections on a theatrical comedy about the decline of the Olympians and the "death" of Greco-Roman Theology

By: Rafael Duarte Oliveira Venancio

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Known for his novels written after the age of 40, Machado de Assis, in his youth, was involved with the theater, either as a theater critic or as a playwright. One of his plays – written at age 25 (1864), staged in 1865 and published as a book in 1866 – is called “Tailcoat Gods”, a “theatrical comedy” in verse, and presents a reflection on the decadence of the Olympians, that is, the Greco-Roman gods, in the face of Modernity.
This text, in a way, engages in an important intertextual dialogue with “Gods in Exile,” by Heinrich Heine, whom the young Machado de Assis greatly admired. Thus, in this book we intend to analyze the idea of "Tailcoat Gods" not only within the traditional scope of understanding Machado de Assis's work (that is, the issues of Realism and the discussion of the Modern civilization process), but also within a theological and mythological scope, present in the work of Heinrich Heine, whom we consider a decisive influence on Machado de Assis. The idea is to reach a broader audience than those highly versed in art, philosophy, theology, and ancient history, aiming for clarification in both the historical and philosophical knowledge process, promoting reflection on how Machado de Assis, like Heine, metaphorically addresses a "death" of Greco-Roman Theology in his text.
Thus, the play "Tailcoat Gods," by Machado de Assis, is a comedy that deals with—in addition to political and social issues—the spiritual side of Western Civilization with the loss of its first gods, the Olympians.