This article presents a functionalist analysis of the discourse of the note written by Vilela in the story "A cartomante," by Machado de Assis. The note is interpreted and reinterpreted by Camilo several times in ways that are partially different. The effect of the re-readings, called "auto-pluriphonic," arises from the various foci of new information that Camilo derives from the discourse at each new reading or remembrance of the contents of the note. One of these interpretations conveys the possibility of the ironic-tragic end of Machado's text.