The Violent Land: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Violent Land" delves into the complexities of power dynamics, personal ambition, and familial loyalty in a turbulent setting. Central to the narrative are several pivotal characters whose lives intertwine amid the violent struggles over land in Ilhéus. João Magalhães, a gambler with a mysterious past, becomes entangled with the Badaró family, particularly with Ana, the determined daughter who fiercely defends her family's legacy. Colonel Horacio da Silveira emerges as a wealthy and ruthless plantation owner, employing violence to expand his cacao empire, while his wife, Ester, grapples with her own desires and ultimately meets a tragic end. The Badaró family patriarch, Sinhó, embodies a moral resistance to violence, seeking guidance through scripture even as he faces overwhelming odds. Other characters, such as Juca Badaró and Virgilio Cabral, illustrate the varying responses to the harsh realities of their environment, from aggression to tragic romance. Overall, the interplay of these characters highlights themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the harsh realities of life in a land marked by conflict and ambition.
The Violent Land: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jorge Amado
First published: Terras do sem fin, 1942 (English translation, 1945)
Genre: Novel
Locale: The city of São Jorge de Ilhéus, Bahía, Brazil, and nearby plantations
Plot: Historical
Time: 1911–1912
João Magalhães (zhoh-OWN mah-gahl-YAYS), a gambler and drifter who claims to be a captain and military engineer who has participated in several revolutions. Although he won his engineer's ring at a gaming table, he agrees to survey the Sequeiro Grande (see-KAY-roh GRAHN-dee), a rich area of fiercely contested tropical forest. While working for the Badaró family, he falls in love with the only heir, Ana. João's shadowy background notwithstanding, Ana's family considers his ability to reinvent himself and adapt to his circumstances a useful asset in a land that is in the process of self-creation, and they approve the match. He agrees to change his surname to Badaró and continue the family line.
Colonel Horacio da Silveira (oh-RAH-see-oh seel-vayEE-rah), a former mule driver who by hard work becomes the wealthiest of the cacao plantation owners. Widowed, he marries the young and cultured Ester, with whom he has one son. Like other “colonels” of the region, he employs many bodyguards and ruffians to protect his life and to forward his interests. With their aid, he launches a bloody campaign to claim the Sequeiro Grande as part of his already extensive cacao holdings, using his hired guns to assassinate those who stand in his way. He survives the fever that kills his wife, has his principal rival assassinated, and, when political power shifts to his party, even wins the legal battles related to the acquisition of the forest.
Ester Silveira, Horacio's wife and the mother of his only son. She does not adapt well to the roughness of plantation life. She falls in love with Horacio's lawyer, Virgilio, with whom she dreams of escaping the violent life of Ilhéus. After tending to Horacio during his bout with typhus, she succumbs to the fever, dying a few days later.
Juca Badaró (ZHEW-kah bah-dah-ROH), the brother of Sinhó Badaró. He is more aggressive than his brother in the struggle for the Sequeiro Grande. He is married to Olga, but they are childless. A hard-drinking, card-playing womanizer, he is assassinated by one of Horacio's henchmen.
Sinhó Badaró (seen-YOH), the widowed patriarch of the Badaró family and Ana's father. Loathe to resort to violence, he nevertheless refuses to let Horacio claim the Sequeiro Grande. He seeks guidance in his daily ritual of reading at random from the Bible. Wounded while defending his plantation from Horacio, he is forced to abandon his home to the torches of his enemies.
Don'Ana (Ana) Badaró (dohn-AHN-ah), the intrepid daughter of Sinhó Badaró and his wife Lidia, who died when Ana was very young. Ana knows the plantation thoroughly and has no desire for a more refined lifestyle. She has no interest in men or in love until she meets the adventurer João Magalhães. In the standoff with Horacio and his men, she is the last to defend the family home. Hiding in the attic after all others have abandoned the house in fear of their lives, she shoots the last bullet shot by a Badaró in the struggle for the Sequeiro Grande. Her enemies admire her courage and let her go free.
Virgilio Cabral (veer-HEE-lee-oh kah-BRAHL), a recently graduated lawyer, sent from Bahía by his political party to assist the head of the opposition, Colonel Horacio. He has a passionate affair with Horacio's wife, Ester. When she dies of typhus, he shares Horacio's grief and, as a way of remembering Ester, becomes Horacio's dedicated collaborator in the land wars. When Horacio discovers they were lovers, he has Virgilio assassinated. Though he is forewarned, Virgilio rides to meet his death, seeking union with his dead beloved.
Margot (MAHR-goh), Virgilio's lover during his student days in Bahía. She follows him to Ilhéus, where they end their relationship. She becomes Juca Badaró's mistress.
Raimunda (ri-MEWN-dah), the daughter of Risoleta, who nursed Raimunda and Don'Ana at the same time and showed every preference for her white “daughter” over her natural, black daughter. Raimunda grows up as Ana's playmate and then becomes a member of the household staff. She and Ana are married on the same day.
Antonio Victor, a young man who comes to Ilhéus in search of his fortune. Hired by Juca as a field laborer, he saves his master's life and becomes a hired hand. He courts Raimunda unsuccessfully until he is wounded while saving Juca's life a second time. As his reward, he asks for her as wife. She agrees to marry him.