How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Happiness? I have never come across a more foolish word, invented by all of those unfortunate girls from north-eastern Brazil. (1.3)
According to Rodrigo, happiness is just a silly dream that all of these poor, foolish girls from north-eastern Brazil (presumably, this includes Macabéa) stupidly believe in. While Macabéa thinks that she is happy, everyone else thinks her life is miserable. But the real question here is: if these girls are happy, who are we to say that they're not?
Quote #2
She found consolation in being sad. Not desperate, for she was much too modest and simple to indulge in despair, but that indefinable quality associated with romantics. (3.83)
Well, duh, being a little sad is totally hot. Not all-out depressed, of course. That's just, you know, sad.
Quote #3
If the girl only knew that my own happiness stems from the deepest sorrow and that sorrow is an abortive form of happiness. (3.88)
The narrator suggests that sorrow and happiness are two sides of the same coin, and maybe this can help us understand why Macabéa considers herself happy. In the memorable words of a sleeper indie hit from 2006: "Sorrow is just worn-out joy."
Quote #4
It is better not to speak of happiness or unhappiness—such words provoke that vague nostalgia suffused in lilac, the perfume of violets, these gelid tidal waters that send spray over the sands. I have no desire to provoke any of these things for they are painful. (4.285)
You know how sometimes you turn on the sad music because you feel like being depressed? (No? Just us?) That's what the narrator's talking about here, except … fancier.
Quote #5
Besides, what else could she do? She was a lost cause. And even sadness was the privilege of the rich, of those who could afford it, of those who had nothing better to do. Sadness was a luxury. (4.290)
Macabéa carries on after Olímpico dumps her, because she has no choice. She literally cannot afford to take time off from work and, like, lie in bed eating ice cream and watching old movies.
Quote #6
Maca even thought of herself as being happy. She was no idiot yet she possessed the pure happiness of idiots. (4.353)
Usually, when people say "ignorance is bliss," they're saying it sarcastically. They don't really mean it. But, you know? Maybe it really is. Who's to say what happiness is except the person feeling it?
Quote #7
As a little girl, because she had no one to kiss, she often used to kiss the wall. Embracing the wall was like embracing herself. (4.413)
This quote doesn't say anything about sadness. It's just sad. It's one of the saddest scenes of the book—a little girl kissing a wall because she has no one to show her love. Like we said, sad.
Quote #8
Only now did she recognize that her life had been miserable. She felt like weeping as she perceived the other side. For as I've already stated, until this moment, Macabéa had thought of herself as being happy. (4.414)
Awk-ward. Madame Carlota is the first person to tell Macabéa that her life stinks, and it's not a nice feeling. The one good thing? Now she can finally feel hope. (But—spoiler alert—not for long.)