O bacharelismo na obra Dom Casmurro, de Machado de Assis

Abstract

The study analyzes bacharelismo as a central phenomenon in the social, political, and legal formation of Imperial Brazil, examining the development of the first law schools and the role played by law graduates in public administration, intellectual life, and the nineteenthcentury state structure. It also examines how these elements are represented in Machado de Assis’s Dom Casmurro, with the aim of assessing how the narrative challenges the values associated with bacharelismo, particularly regarding the use of rhetoric as a form of authority, cultural elitism, and the political activity of this educated elite. The research adopts a qualitative methodology based on bibliographic studies on Brazilian social thought, the history of legal education, and Machado’s critical work. The analysis encompasses the historical context of the rise of bacharelismo, the academic environment of the first law schools, and the inclusion of the law graduate within the Empire’s power structure, culminating in the interpretation of Bento Santiago as a literary expression of the contradictions inherent in this formative model. The findings indicate that Machado de Assis both challenges and subverts the idealized image of the law graduate, revealing the weaknesses of traditional legal education, marked by ornamental rhetoric and the preservation of social privileges.