Felicia Alacrán Character Analysis in The House of the Scorpion

Felicia is the wife of Mr. Alacrán and the mother of Benito, Steven, and Tom. She used to be a concert pianist, but after having a nervous breakdown, only plays alone in the music room. She runs off with the rival drug lord, Mr. MacGregor, and the pair have an affair which produces the illegitimate son, Tom. But El Patrón forces her to come home, showing his extreme possessiveness and destructive authority. Felicia consumes large amounts of alcohol and opium due to her misery over being trapped on El Patrón’s estate. She loves and advocates for her son, Tom, to the point of being cruel and vindictive toward Matt, whom she sees as his rival.

Felicia Alacrán Character Timeline in The House of the Scorpion

The timeline below shows where the character Felicia Alacrán appears in The House of the Scorpion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Language, Law, and Dehumanization Theme Icon

Abuse of Power and Corruption Theme Icon

...Matt onto the lawn the first night he came to the Big House. Matt meets Felicia, a sickly woman who is Mr. Alacrán’s wife, and a very old man who is... (full context)

...he’s alone, Matt entertains himself by wandering around the house. He hides and listens while Felicia ferociously plays the piano in the afternoons. She plays until she is exhausted, and the... (full context)

Free Will vs. Predetermination Theme Icon

One day, Matt is hiding and listening to Felicia play when the doctor enters. Felicia complains to him and the doctor offers her an... (full context)

...finds the suggestion disgusting, but El Patrón says it’s fine because Matt is his clone. Felicia wonders where Tom is. El Patrón says María will sit next to Matt and Tom... (full context)

El Patrón and MacGregor discuss “fetal brain implants” while Felicia and María eat their dinner miserably. Matt notices that Felicia keeps looking at MacGregor. El... (full context)

Felicia unexpectedly comes to see Matt. She complements Matt on his music ability. She talks about... (full context)

...he acts like a scorpion like the rest of the Alacráns. Tom was conceived when Felicia briefly ran off with MacGregor. El Patrón then stole Felicia back and imprisoned her on... (full context)

Matt knows from past exploration that part of the secret passage leads to Felicia’s closet. There, he finds laudanum (“opium dissolved in alcohol”), which Felicia uses to sleep. He... (full context)

...and where he wants to be buried like an Egyptian pharaoh. El Patrón holds onto Felicia and Tom, even though he doesn’t like them, because he wants to maintain possession of... (full context)

...coming so they run back into the passage. Through the peephole they see Tom and Felicia enter the computer room. Felicia sits down at one of the computers, which shows security... (full context)

Tom and Felicia sit at the computer and scroll through security footage from the house until they see... (full context)

Felicia suggests they look at the security footage from outside. She shows Tom the lotus pond... (full context)

...him about the secret passage a long time ago. María reveals to Tam Lin that Felicia killed Furball. Tam Lin offers to sneak María out through El Patrón’s study because her... (full context)

Matt always feels like he’s being watched within the house. He feels uncomfortable knowing Felicia maliciously hates him. Matt continues to go to the stables and attempts to talk to... (full context)

...Celia is distracted and Tam Lin is with El Patrón. MacGregor arrives for the wedding. Felicia drinks herself into a state of unconsciousness. Benito, Fani, and Steven arrive at the estate.... (full context)

...wedding begins and Matt can see the entire family gathered up at the altar. Both Felicia and Fani are drunk. Matt also recognizes that Benito is hopelessly stupid, and Tom is... (full context)