10 April 2026

Waypoint - “The Fortune Teller” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis is perhaps the greatest writer of Brazil. In “The Fortune-Teller,” a secret affair driven by anonymous threats pushes a committed skeptic toward a dingy attic and a deck of cards. It is a study in how easily we trade our reason for a comfortable prophecy, and a reminder that the future rarely negotiates with the stories we tell ourselves. As a setting for our discussion on the role of chance, fate, and destiny against moral accountability, we might find few better examples.

Chapters

00:00 Waypoint Introduction
00:14 Title: “The Fortune Teller” by Machado de Assis
00:33 Reading: “The Fortune Teller”
26:01 Outro

Reflection Questions:

How does the physical weight of a “secret” alter the way your mind perceives the “random” events of the day?
In the moment Camillo enters the fortune-teller’s house, is he seeking a discovery of the future, or a sanctuary from the present?
How does the “logic” of a skeptic become the primary tool for their own self-deception?
If the fortune-teller “guessed” his secret, does that validate the magic, or does it simply expose the transparency of a guilty mind?
When we outsource our moral outcomes to “Fate,” what part of our own agency and accountability do we leave behind?

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TRANSCRIPT: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/waypoint-reading-of-the-fortune-teller

Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material frequently, with deep-dive examinations of literature surrounded by smaller episodes which explore related texts, topics, and strategies for thinking.

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CREDITS:

Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)

USING THIS WORK:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:

Chisnell, Steve. “Reading of ‘The Fortune Teller’ by Machado de Assis,’” Waywords Studio, 10 April 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/waypoints/.