♦ There is little distance between exogamy and incest since Don Cándido is everyone’s father (as it were).
♦ There is no compatibility between the hierarchical, slaveowning society and the bourgeois, modern one. The secrets that must be kept from the bourgeois society cause problems: it cannot be said that Cecilia is Leonardo’s sister, so their romance is not prevented. This is one major source of tension in the novel — a novel of “misplaced ideas” if you will.
♦ Actually, the novel itself is a misplaced idea, since it is based on the plaçage trope which is not really about Cuba and is not a real, historical phenomenon.
♦ Doris says this novel is about speaking and hearing and not speaking and knowing and not knowing; she also says it is about seeing and discerning as I do; it is about interpretation, who is a good interpreter, who is recognized as an interpreter.
♦ Doris’ style drives me around the bend, it is so chatty and coy and precious, but she can be worth reading. These ideas were developed while reading her piece …filling in the blanks for Villaverde.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 