ABSTRACT
In O cortico, sometime after Pombinha has her first menstrual period, Bruno, one of her neighbors in the tenement house, asks her to write a letter for him. This task is part of Pombinha's work in the place, where most people, illiterate, have to rely on her ability with words in order to contact their friends and relatives. The request for another letter is nothing special for Pombinha, who, until now, restricts her letter writing to copying almost exactly what the neighbor is dictating. The tenement house was built by Joao Romao and former street vendor Bertoleza. From the capitalization of Bertoleza's work, Joao Romao begins to generate a machine which has the ability of reproducing itself. The outcome of Joao Romao's actions (and sensitivity to monetary gain) is his introduction into the financiers' world, his title of viscount and his marriage to Zulmira, Miranda's daughter, whereas the result of Pombinha's sensitivity is, on the other hand, profitable prostitution.
