Palimpsest

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘palimpsest’ is ‘something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.’ As we discussed in class, the idea of palimpsest can be sensed early in the text in Aura. When Felipe goes to Donceles Street, he notices that most of the houses have had their numbers changed, but the impressions of the old numbers still remain. There had been no deliberate effort to erase the old identities of the houses. Similarly, the building themselves are a juxtaposition of the old and the new. The first floors of the former colonial mansions have been redesigned into commercial stores, but the upper floors remain unperturbed by the changing times.

This idea of palimpsest, or an overlay of characteristics, becomes a central theme for the rest of the book. As we learn later in the text, Aura is a projection of Consuelo herself; in a sense, Aura is overlaid on Consuelo. Similarly, Felipe merges into the role of the General over the course of the story. Firstly, when Felipe dreams of Aura and she tells him, “You’re my husband.” (77), he agrees without hesitation. Later, when he sees pictures of the General with Aura and Consuelo, he realizes he looks very much like the General himself. Lastly, by the end of the book, when he realizes he’s in bed with Consuelo and not Aura, he does not retreat. He willingly accepts the role of the General, as Consuelo’s husband. This way, there is a layer of Aura over Consuelo and a layer of the General over Felipe. This collapse of new and old, past and present obscures the idea of time and generations. They become “changed, painted over, confused” (9) like the house numbers on Donceles Street.

On that note, it is interesting to notice that the book is written in present tense. The use of present tense gives us a sense of immediacy; it puts us in the moment and makes us curious about the immediate future. At the same time, it makes us uncomfortable due to the lack of knowledge of the past. It keeps us searching for both the past and the future at the same time. This idea of collapsing the past and the future in the present moment is consistent with the overall theme of the book as well.