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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mexican Gothic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power
Nature vs. Love
Colonialism
Life, Death, and Rebirth
Summary
Analysis
There’s an opulent costume party at the Tuñóns’ house, and everyone plans to celebrate late into the night. These parties happen regularly enough that the chauffeurs know not to stand outside pointlessly waiting; instead, they huddle together to smoke and swap stories, or else seek out street food or nearby maids they have a crush on. After all, they know that no one will leave the party until after one in the morning.
The novel begins at an extravagant costume party in the home of a wealthy family. A description of the party is immediately juxtaposed with a description of the chauffeurs—working-class people who are expected to wait outside all night while their employers revel in opulence. There is an extreme wealth gap depicted here, and the protagonist, Noemí, will soon be introduced as part of the wealthy elite. This mirrors the wealth gap present in El Triunfo, which will later be portrayed in Chapter Two.
Themes
One couple leaves the party very early, breaking convention. Their driver cannot be found, so they must walk into the city to find a taxi. The man, Hugo Duarte, carries a papier-mâché horse head as part of his costume. The woman, Noemí, told Hugo to dress as a horse so that they could win the costume contest together, but she changed her costume at the last moment. She decided that she didn’t want to dress as a jockey, but she never bothered to tell Hugo that.
Noemí is introduced as a convention-breaker. Not only does she leave the party early, but also her original costume was a jockey—an occupation that women were excluded from at this time. That Noemí doesn’t tell Hugo about her costume change reveals an inconsiderate self-determinism as well.
Themes
Noemí’s costume change has irritated Hugo, but she didn’t choose to go out with him for his personality—or for his social status or intelligence, for that matter. Noemí wants Hugo because he is attractive; it’s that simple.
Noemí demonstrates her disregard for the traditional things that a woman is supposed to look for when she chooses a man in this era. She dates Hugo simply because she wants to—quite a progressive motivation for a wealthy young woman in the 1950s.
Themes
The taxi arrives at Noemí’s house. Hugo asks her for a kiss before the taxi pulls away, but Noemí refuses him. She goes inside, directly to her father’s office, and enters without knocking. Her father sits at his desk, and Noemí throws herself down into a chair and loudly sighs. She doesn’t like being summoned home early.
Noemí’s refusal to kiss Hugo demonstrates a confident independence, as does walking into her father’s office without knocking. Time and again Noemí butts up against masculine authority—something she’ll continue to do throughout the novel.
Themes
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Noemí assumes that her father summoned her back from the party because he found out that she was with Hugo. Her father doesn’t approve of Hugo and thinks that Noemí wants to marry him. Noemi does everything that’s expected of a good socialite: she shops at a fancy department store, she speaks English (thanks to an education at a private Catholic school), and she dresses well before going out, so everybody assumes that she’s devoted to the twin pursuits of leisure and husband-hunting.
At this time in Mexico women had few career opportunities. A wealthy woman like Noemí would be expected to maintain a robust social life as a method of finding a husband. Whether this man is suitable, of course, is determined by the father. Thus, that Noemí dates Hugo with no intention of marrying him—and against her father’s wishes—is extremely unconventional.
Themes
Noemí’s father admits that he didn’t summon her because of Hugo. Before he tells her the truth, however, Noemí has to swear not to repeat any of what she’s about to hear—not to anyone. Noemí agrees, and her father tells her about a letter he received from Noemí’s cousin, Catalina, a few weeks ago. In the letter, Catalina made wild assertions about her husband, Virgil Doyle, so Noemí’s father wrote to Virgil in an attempt to get to the root of the matter.
The letter from Catalina sets the action of the novel in motion. It’s telling that Noemí’s father writes to Virgil in order to “get to the root of the matter”. His attitude seems dismissive of Catalina’s claims, revealing a bias against women.
Themes
Virgil and Noemí’s father write back and forth. Virgil claims that Catalina has been behaving oddly, but she has been improving lately. Noemí’s father insists that Catalina should come to Mexico City (where Noemí and her father live) and seek professional help. Virgil refuses, saying that professional help isn’t necessary.
While the true state of Catalina’s mind is still in doubt, it should be noted that two men are deciding her fate without her input. In contrast to Noemí, who consistently subverts male authority, Catalina is here dominated by it.
Themes
Noemí’s father hands her the latest telegram from Virgil. In it, Virgil invites Noemí to visit Catalina. The train does not often run through their town, but there is one that departs from Mexico City tomorrow. Noemí’s father encourages her to go. It could be that Catalina is just exaggerating, since she’s always had a tendency towards the melodramatic. And after all, this is a matter best handled by a woman.
Again Noemí’s father is dismissive of Catalina’s claims. Though Catalina has alleged that her spouse abuses her, Noemí’s father seems much more willing to believe that Catalina is exaggerating.
Themes
Noemí doesn’t think it’s fair for her father to label Catalina as melodramatic. She asks to see the letter that Catalina wrote. In the letter, Catalina claims that Virgil is poisoning her, that their house is sick with rot, that she’s imprisoned in the house, and that she sees ghosts. She asks Noemí to come and save her, because she cannot save herself.
Noemi resists her father’s easy disregard of Catalina’s claims. Rather than rely on either man’s version of the story, she wants to read Catalina’s words for herself. In the letter Catalina makes numerous allegations of abuse—though the writing does become nonsensical as it goes on. Moreno-Garcia seems to position Catalina as a damsel in distress, a common trope in Gothic novels. The key difference here is that the damsel’s savior is Noemí, another woman.
Themes
Noemí finds Catalina’s letter disconcerting. She realizes that it’s been a while since she’s spoken to her cousin—in fact, nobody in her family has spoken to Catalina much lately. They’ve all assumed she’s enjoying her time as a newlywed and is too busy to write. Still, Noemí recognizes that the letter is very uncharacteristic of Catalina.
Catalina withdrew from her family after her marriage to Virgil. At this point it’s unclear what prompted this; it could have been the family’s icy reception of Catalina’s engagement, or it could be Virgil’s doing. Noemí in particular has lost much of her former intimacy with her cousin.
Themes
After Noemí finishes the letter, her father confesses that he doesn’t trust Virgil. He thinks that they married too quickly, without proper forethought. Noemí admits that her father has a point: Catalina was sending wedding invitations only a few weeks after meeting Virgil.
The speed of Catalina and Doyle’s engagement casts some doubt on the state of their marriage. Because Catalina’s parents had passed away, Noemí’s father felt that he should have had more control over who Catalina married.
Themes
Noemí pleads with her father to believe Catalina. She met Virgil briefly, and remembers that he was handsome and polite, but still, she doesn’t trust him. Her father responds by pointing out that Catalina, in addition to her allegations of abuse, claimed that ghosts walked through the walls of her home. That doesn’t sound too credible, does it?
Though Noemí’s father is certainly quick to discredit Catalina’s letter, he does have a point. This is not just an issue of he-said, she-said; Catalina is seeing ghosts, suggesting that she’s in some way mentally unfit.
Themes
Noemí’s father reveals that Virgil’s family had run out of money by the time he married Catalina. If they were to divorce, Catalina’s money would go, too. Noemí’s father calls Virgil a “stranger,” explaining that he doesn’t know what lengths Virgil is willing to go to in order to maintain access to Catalina’s accounts. For all he knows, Catalina is tied to a bed and being fed gruel.
This passage suggests a financial motivation for Virgil, if there is in fact something amiss. It also reiterates how little Catalina’s family knows about the man.
Themes
Noemí’s father asks her to visit her cousin, assess the situation, and attempt to convince Virgil to move Catalina to Mexico City if the situation calls for it. He tells her that she needs to take the first available train to El Triunfo—which leaves Monday morning. If she does this, her father will give her permission to enroll in a master’s program at National University.
One of Noemí’s father’s criticisms of his daughter is that she is flighty; she fails to remain committed to any singular goal. So, he suggests one for her: to go on this quest to El Triunfo and save her cousin. He believes that this is an opportunity for his daughter to grow into a more determined person.
Themes
Noemí’s parents allowed her to get a bachelor’s degree at Feminine University of Mexico, but they balked when she asked if she could pursue a master’s degree in anthropology at the National University. Her parents saw this as a waste of time—the silly notions of a modern girl. Girls are supposed to follow a simple cycle, her mother explained, from debutante to wife. Studying further would just be a delay in the cycle—like remaining a chrysalis inside a cocoon.
At this time in Mexico, it was uncommon for a woman to obtain a higher education. As Noemí’s mother explained, it was at odds with their expected path in life: young socialite to wife to mother to widow. Calling Noemí a “chrysalis” insinuates that a woman achieves perfection only with marriage and childbirth.
Themes
In disbelief, Noemí asks her father if he is serious. He affirms, explaining that he doesn’t want a divorce to stain the family name, and that Catalina has already had her share of misfortune—her parents died while she was young, and early in life she had a broken engagement which caused much strife and hurt feelings. Noemí agrees to go see Catalina. She realizes that she knows very little about the place she’s going or the people she’ll meet there. Nonetheless, she’ll show her father the dedication he wants.
The promise of an education motivates Noemí to agree to visit Catalina, which displays a small amount of selfishness despite Noemí’s evident concern for her cousin. That Catalina lived with Noemí after her parents died suggests they used to be quite close.
Themes
