ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the similarities between the Brazilian novel and the Russian short story, which Eugenio Gomes has already highlighted, and compares the narrative resources employed by these two writers. It shows that the Russian short story served as a narrative source and, at the same time, a counter-example to Quincas Borba. The chapter examines two examples which prove that, because Machado de Assis maintained or even emphasized the kaleidoscopic vision of the narrative when rewriting, the reader's point of view is not limited to that of Rubisao. In the process of rewriting, Machado de Assis strengthened the kaleidoscopic vision of the narrative. One of the advantages of the kaleidoscopic narrative viewpoint is that the secondary characters, particularly the female ones, gain in complexity as more space is devoted to them. Machado's narrative skill in Quinas Borba lies in his ability to reveal, through a multiplicity of viewpoints, the true nature of the relations between individuals.
