Both knew they had no choice in the situation. The encounter lasted less than 20 minutes. There were no conversations or attempts to create intimacy. Both wanted it to end as quickly as possible. João Crisóstomo, despite his position as foreman and his relative education, understood perfectly that he was being used as a reproductive instrument.
Dona Esperança endured the situation with the resignation of someone who had lost all control over her own life. The Colonel waited outside, smoking cigars nervously and checking his pocket watch repeatedly. When Dona Esperança left the house, he accompanied her back to the Big House without uttering a word.
João Crisóstomo waited a few minutes before returning to his activities in the coffee fields. The routine repeated itself in the following days. Miguel dos Santos, on Tuesday, showed even more nervousness than João. His inexperience with elite women made the situation even more embarrassing. Antônio da Silva, on Wednesday, was more direct and efficient than the first three, treating the encounter as just another task to be completed.
Dona Esperança developed mental strategies to endure the encounters. She would close her eyes and try to transport herself to her childhood memories in the convent. She mentally recited prayers in Latin or planned flower arrangements for the following week. Anything that would help her disconnect from reality.
The other slaves on the farm began to realize that something unusual was happening. The seven chosen ones received differentiated treatment, better food, new clothes, and exemption from some heavier tasks, but the farm’s rigid discipline and fear of the Colonel prevented any direct questioning.
Pedro Gonçalves, on Thursday, was the first to try to establish some kind of communication with Dona Esperança. He respectfully asked if she was well and if she needed anything. The unexpected kindness made her cry throughout the encounter, which left Pedro deeply disturbed.
Francisco de Assis, on Friday, took with him a small bouquet of wild flowers he had picked in the garden. The gesture, though simple, represented an attempt to humanize a completely dehumanized situation. Dona Esperança kept the flowers, which were the only ones she received during that entire dark period.
It is important to remember that we are dealing with a historical period where slavery completely dehumanized Black people, treating them as property. At the same time, women, even white and from the elite, had very little autonomy over their own lives and bodies. May 1864 brought the first complications of the agreement established by Colonel Augusto.
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