H. & M., the probing couple in an essay on romance

Abstract

Manual of Painting and Calligraphy, as the title itself indicates, is a manual of the two arts that the narrator proposes to understand – painting, especially (self)portrait, and writing, as an exercise of self-knowledge. H., the narrator and protagonist, is aware that who makes a portrait is also who is portrayed. It’s obvious to realize the initials H. and M. as “man” and “woman”, revealing the first Saramago’s approach to the “manual” for the construction of his fundamental couples of characters that will be the basis of so many of his future novels. M., for now, is still a pale sample of future powerful female characters, nevertheless, she is already, subtly, a companion woman, a guide woman. In this couple of characters, as in the future, one discovers in the other the person who will decide to actively follow, contributing to the growth of the relationship, of each one and of what each one will bring to the relationship and to the other.