The present study aims to address the problem of how to conceptualize the sense of rupture in Machado de Assis from the central issues of representation, subjectivity and history. It will focus on the category of subject to think about the aesthetic sphere and the formal principles of construction of its texts and the relations with the modes of representation of Brazilian nationality. Our reading tries to offer some clues to think about Machado de Assis, about his place in the history of Latin American literature and why he is such a disturbing figure for critics.