The Crime of Padre Amaro

On their return, the Prime Minister the Duke of Saldanha, being a friend and patron of Eça's grandfather, appointed him administrator of the district of Leiria. It was a leisurely job in a calm and sleepy little town, with time and opportunity to observe provincial life. Leiria will be the setting of his first novel, The Crime of Padre Amaro a ferocious attack on the petty hypocrisy of a society dominated by a corrupt and faithless clergy. It has been compared to Zola's The Sin of Abbé Mouret, apparently by people who have read neither. This comparison used to enrage Eça de Queiroz himself. In fact, reading 'Padre Amaro' reminds one strongly of Balzac's Curé de Tours, and slightly of the Barchester chronicles. This landmark book, however, is so much more dramatic and bitter that no comparison can stand for long. It deserves a particular mention for three reasons: its subject matter, the conditions of its publication, and its significance as a manifesto of realism.

It tells the story of the birth and suppression of an illegitimate child, which suggests that its writing played a cathartic role for the author himself. To such an extent, that he was reluctant to acknowledge the final version. The first edition was published in 1875, thanks to Eça's friend Batalha Reis, and much to Eça's annoyance. Another text appeared in 1876, and the final version in 1880. It is probable that, during the years of maturation of the novel, Eça got to understand better his father — to whom he was always very close — and to guess, or know the secret of his own birth. In fact, there might be a wry pun in the title: O crime do padre Amaro (the crime of Padre Amaro) is likely a pun on: 'O crime do padre é amar' (the crime of the priest is to love) and "O crime do pai é amar-o) ('the crime of his father is to love him')—a masked vindication of judge Queiroz, perfectly in keeping with the fond relationship that endured between father and son.

As an accomplished first novel, O crime do Padre Amaro illustrates the fastidious quest for perfection of the young author, his demanding moral standards, and, most of all, his vision of realism as a new expression for Art.