Alby Pinto Character Analysis in The Female Persuasion

Cory’s precocious and incredibly intelligent younger brother who is killed when he is only eight years old after his mother, Benedita, runs over him with her car while he is crouched in the driveway studying his pet turtle, Slowy. Alby’s death sends shockwaves of grief through the Pinto family—Alby’s father, Duarte, leaves Benedita and Cory and returns to Portugal, Benedita becomes unresponsive and borderline psychotic in her sorrow, and Cory is forced to move home in order to care for his grief-stricken mother. Though Alby is only physically present for a brief portion of the novel, the impact his death resonates deeply throughout the lives of his brother and his mother. Cory’s journey is impacted forever by the loss of his brother and his search for meaning and fulfillment in the wake of that loss.

Alby Pinto Character Timeline in The Female Persuasion

The timeline below shows where the character Alby Pinto appears in The Female Persuasion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...and different from her own. In addition, Cory’s bright and intelligent baby brother, three-and-a-half year-old Alby, was remarkably fun to be around. Greer and Cory both doted constantly on Alby and... (full context)

Sociopolitical Power vs. Personal Fortitude Theme Icon

...and secure at home with his family. His parents praised him and his little brother, Alby, as “geniuses.” Cory grew up very differently from his cousin Sabio, or Sab, who obsessed... (full context)

...but Cory’s father explained that Cory’s mother, backing out of the driveway, had run over Alby and crushed his spine. A bone broke off and entered a major artery, and now... (full context)

Female Friendship and Mentorship Theme Icon

...her to pick up the phone. He did not want to leave the news of Alby’s death on a voicemail, so he simply left messages begging her to call him back... (full context)

...members. Greer embraces Cory immediately, and he asks her what he can do to make Alby’s death “not true.” In his younger years, Cory was annoyed by Alby. However, as his... (full context)

...lift her head. Cory immediately lashes out at her, asking why she couldn’t have seen Alby in the driveway. She insists that he wasn’t in her rearview mirror, and that she... (full context)

At Alby’s funeral, Benedita faints at the grave, and Duarte begrudgingly helps her to her feet. The... (full context)

One morning, Benedita comes downstairs covered in scratch marks. She tells Cory that Alby’s spirit wants for her to “shed [her] skin.” Cory’s aunts and uncles decide that Benedita... (full context)

Cory has not been in Alby’s room since his brother’s death, but now that Cory has “officially” decided to move back... (full context)

...box in the corner of the room, and Cory realizes with a sickening flash what Alby had been doing in the driveway on the morning of his death and why he... (full context)

Cory calls his father to let him know that Alby’s death had not been Benedita’s fault—Alby had been lying on the ground studying Slowy. This... (full context)

...high in which he forgets, for the first time in a long time, all about Alby’s death. (full context)

...overwhelmed by grief. He cannot believe that his brother is truly gone and laments how Alby has simply “evaporated” from the world. Cory begins using Alby’s old notebooks to record his... (full context)

...laugh of a stranger. Cory, after all this time, is still unable to accept that Alby is not somewhere out in the world, and Cory can’t help feeling that he could... (full context)

Cory has been able to move on from Alby’s death in many ways—he has a stable job in Northampton at a computer store, where... (full context)

...houses, and at night, he cooks for his mother, plays video games, and sits in Alby’s bedroom with Slowy. One day, one of Cory’s friends from the store asks him if... (full context)

...He has lost her, too, but in a more “ordinary” way than he has lost Alby. Cory realizes that while he can still find Greer physically, she might be a different... (full context)

...just starting out. Greer imagines Cory, back in his mother’s house in the wake of Alby’s death, sitting on the edge of his brother’s bed playing with Slowy. As Greer considers... (full context)