In his novel A cidade e as serras (1901), Eça de Queirós introduces a peculiar protagonist who makes an equally peculiar life-changing decision. Jacinto, a Portuguese millionaire living in Paris, leads a tedious existence despite being surrounded by everything that the latest technologies of his time could provide. Quite unexpectedly, Jacinto decides to leave Paris and all of his gadgets behind for simple country life in Portugal. Although this celebrated character has been extensively studied by scholars, to date he has not been discussed in parallel with Jules Verne’s Kin-fo, the Chinese millionaire who is the protagonist of Les tribulations d’un chinois en Chine (1879). In comparing Jacinto and Kin-fo, a number of important coincidences emerge, such as their shared passion for technologies and a Shopenhauerian tedium they both experience. Given these parallels, it is possible to postulate that Verne’s earlier novel might have influenced Queirós when he was writing A cidade e as serras.
Lecture conducted in Portuguese. Pizza and refreshments available.
