Killing Dr. da Cunha - The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides da Cunha - page 358

With the end of his diplomatic career in sight, da Cunha began an arduous campaign
for the academic post. The trauma of the competition for the chair in logic is described
in detail by others and is perhaps not of general interest. 5 The process took place over
several months with numerous public presentations on topics such as “The Idea of Be-
ing.” The contest nourished his paranoia, was extremely exhausting, and made him even
more impossible in his domestic life. Da Cunha, in the end, placed second according to
theexaminers,butfinaldeterminationoftheoutcomewastobemadebythepresidentof
thecountry.RioBrancomadethedecisiveinterventiontoensurethatdaCunhacaptured
theprizedchair.Anareportedthathethreatened tokilleitherhimselfortheexaminers if
he didn't prevail. 6
ThestressfulmonthsofcompetitionleadinguptotheselectionhadcauseddaCunha's
maladies to erupt in hallucinating form. His “Woman in White,” the spectral vision that
hauntedhiminhisAmazontravels,floatedaroundhimsofrequentlythathehardlydared
to sleep because of the panic the apparition caused him. 7 In this period he vacillated
between mania, paranoia, and despair. His health was extremely precarious, with fre-
quent crises due to the combination of tuberculosis and malaria coupled with domestic
and professional worries. He wrote his friend Oliveira about arriving home trembling
withchillswhenoutdoorsitwascloseto100˚F,andhewashemorrhagingfromhislungs
and spitting up blood. 8 His doctor was coming twice a day. His health was not improved
bydistress overhisdyingfather,Ana'sinfidelity,andthefrequentvisitsoftheRatto sis-
ters, whom he detested for a number of reasons, not the least being their family connec-
tions to the de Assis cadets and unpleasant meddling. These kinswomen remained Ana's
closestfriends,confidantes,andmostintimatetraitors.Othervisitorsincludedtherowdy
pals of Euclides and Ana's oldest son, Solon, including Dinorah de Assis, the younger
brother of Dilermando. In this crowd, whose main pursuits seemed to involve music, in-
trigues, and gossip, the intellectualism and frailty of da Cunha made him an easy target
of ridicule.
Things disappeared from his office: his favorite topics, his small portrait of Queen
Amélia of Portugal, who incarnated for him the ideal of female beauty. Her resemblance
to Ana was actually quite striking: opulent body, dark hair, lively features. Quite a bit of
money was lifted from his wallet as well. 9 While we cannot know who the real pilferers
were,LucindaRattohelpfullypointedoutinherdepositionaboutthedomesticaffairsof
thedaCunhasthatAnawasdivertingherhouseholdmoniestohelpsupportDinorahand
Dilermando. 10 and then there were extra demands from Dilermando. Ana enjoyed giv-
inghimpresents,asherloverandthefatherofhermostadoredchild.Fightsovermoney
became the norm with Euclides, who often asserted to his wife (regardless of who might
be in the room) that he was supporting those that he shouldn't have to, referring in some