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Tam Lin
Celia is Matt’s primary caretaker and a cook in El Patrón’s house. She comes from the same village in Aztán as El Patrón, and therefore was not turned into an eejit when she was caught illegally crossing the border. Celia is deeply religious and loves Matt intensely and selflessly. She provides him with guidance throughout his life to teach him to be kind to others, as well as to keep himself safe. Matt will later describe Celia as his mother to others. She bravely defies El Patrón by secretly feeding Matt poison so he cannot be an organ donor. Celia’s concern for Matt allows him to exercise his free will by choosing to be moral and also by avoiding his supposed destiny of dying so that El Patrón may life. For this crime, she is sentenced to become an eejit but is rescued by Tam Lin. As a result, she is one of the few members of the household who survives El Patrón’s purge at the end of the novel.
Celia Quotes in The House of the Scorpion
The The House of the Scorpion quotes below are all either spoken by Celia or refer to Celia. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
Celia said the Virgin loved all kind and gentle things. She wouldn’t approve of throwing a rotten orange in Tom’s face, even if he deserved it. If She looked inside Matt, She would see the bad thoughts about Rosa and the doctor and be sad.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
“You can speak now, mi vida,” said Celia, but Matt wasn’t ready to go that far.
“Mi vida. I like that,” the old man said with a chuckle. “I like it so much, in fact, it’s what I’ll call him. Can he talk?”
“I think he’s in shock. […] He’s very intelligent, mi patron.”
“Of course. He’s my clone.”
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Chapter 13
Quotes
“Are there any others like me?” he asked.
“No. You’re the only one,” Celia said.
The only one! He was unique. He was special. Matt’s heart swelled with pride. If he wasn’t human, he might become something even better.
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Chapter 14
Quotes
“El Patrón thinks a person belongs to him the same way a house or car or status does,” she said. “He wouldn’t let that person go any more than he’d throw away money. It’s why he wouldn’t allow Felicia to escape. It’s why he keeps everyone under his control so he can call them back in an instant.”
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Chapter 38
Quotes
Tomorrow he would begin the task of breaking down the empire of Opium. It was a huge and terrifying job, but he wasn’t alone. He had Chacho, Fidelito, and Ton-Ton to cheer him on. He had Celia and Daft Donald to advise him and María to be everyone’s conscience.
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Get the entire The House of the Scorpion LitChart as a printable PDF.
Celia Quotes in The House of the Scorpion
The The House of the Scorpion quotes below are all either spoken by Celia or refer to Celia. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
Celia said the Virgin loved all kind and gentle things. She wouldn’t approve of throwing a rotten orange in Tom’s face, even if he deserved it. If She looked inside Matt, She would see the bad thoughts about Rosa and the doctor and be sad.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
“You can speak now, mi vida,” said Celia, but Matt wasn’t ready to go that far.
“Mi vida. I like that,” the old man said with a chuckle. “I like it so much, in fact, it’s what I’ll call him. Can he talk?”
“I think he’s in shock. […] He’s very intelligent, mi patron.”
“Of course. He’s my clone.”
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13
Quotes
“Are there any others like me?” he asked.
“No. You’re the only one,” Celia said.
The only one! He was unique. He was special. Matt’s heart swelled with pride. If he wasn’t human, he might become something even better.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14
Quotes
“El Patrón thinks a person belongs to him the same way a house or car or status does,” she said. “He wouldn’t let that person go any more than he’d throw away money. It’s why he wouldn’t allow Felicia to escape. It’s why he keeps everyone under his control so he can call them back in an instant.”
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Chapter 38
Quotes
Tomorrow he would begin the task of breaking down the empire of Opium. It was a huge and terrifying job, but he wasn’t alone. He had Chacho, Fidelito, and Ton-Ton to cheer him on. He had Celia and Daft Donald to advise him and María to be everyone’s conscience.
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