Amparo leaves Casaubon

Amparo leaves Casaubon after the Umbanda rite in Brazil, turning a night of spiritual crisis into a quiet, lasting separation. Rather than reconcile after her distress, the two retreat from one another: she leaves with a canvas bag and a book of political economy, and their brief correspondence ends without a reply from Casaubon.

The Departure Begins

In the wake of the rite, Amparo is ashamed of what happened and cries that she remains a slave, asking Casaubon to go away. When they return home, she wants to go upstairs alone and tells him to take a walk and come back after she has fallen asleep. She says she will take a pill and excuses her condition by suggesting that she may have eaten something she should not have. The practical explanations do not undo the rupture; Casaubon spends the night beside her in silence, feeling as though an unknown being were there instead.

Leaving Brazil

The next morning, Amparo tells Casaubon she is going to Petrópolis to visit a girlfriend. They say goodbye awkwardly. She leaves carrying a canvas bag and a volume of political economy under her arm, an ordinary departure that gives no sign of a dramatic farewell or settled resolution. Casaubon neither pursues her nor turns the goodbye into a confrontation.

Silence and Separation

For two months Amparo sends no word, and Casaubon makes no attempt to find her. Her eventual letter is brief and evasive: she says she needs time to think. He does not answer. The separation is therefore sustained by mutual distance, but not by equal gestures: Amparo makes one limited attempt at contact, while Casaubon lets it pass unanswered.

Aftermath

Casaubon describes himself as feeling no passion, jealousy, or nostalgia; instead, he is hollow, clear-headed, and emotionless. The relationship’s ending is rendered not as an outburst but as an absence of feeling and communication. He remains in Brazil for another year, living with a constant sense of being on the verge of departure, and sees neither Amparo’s friends nor Aglie again. The unfinished leave-taking thus extends beyond the couple: Casaubon stays, but experiences himself as already poised to go.