This article aims to situate the presence of children and of childhood itself in some of the short stories and novels by Machado de Assis. Based on the understanding of childhood as a fundamental time in human existence, it intends to emphasize the recovery of this time through memory, as a defining recognition of oneself; supported by the belief that the author's writings were an exercise of the human soul's interpretation, it pursues an understanding of how the writer places the child's figure in face of the attitudes that demand the recognition of the other. Finally, through the thought of Machado de Assis, translated in fiction, it intends to show how their arguments may be helpful to a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding children and childhood nowadays.
childhood; child; narration; customs; nowadays