Abstract
The article resumes two letters Machado de Assis and Quintino Bocaiuva have exchanged and develops the idea that the observations of the latter, related to the author's first plays, and his work as a dramatic text critic have encouraged his critical reflection on his fiction production process. The paper identifies discursive proceedings that are typical of dramaturgy in Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas and Dom Casmurro and emphasizes sensory aspects that are projected in the works, act on readers' perception and turn them into a spectator of dramas or comedies, in which characters behave like actors.
Keywords:
Machado de Assis; character; dramatic feature