Double Presence

"They always do the same things: they embrace, smile, eat, speak, enter, leave, at the same time, as if one were imitating the other, as if the will of one depended on the existence of the other" (119).

The quote above is referring to the behavior of Aura and Consuelo, suggesting the characters are one in the same. Although the idea that Aura is the younger version of Consuelo is well supported by the details Fuentes includes, regarding their mannerisms, I find it very hard to believe they are one in the same. Unless, Felipe and General Llorente are the same character...

As one of my fellow classmates noted in their blog post, the second person narration in Aura is particularly interesting and very unusual. The opening of the novel suggested Felipe had been to the old woman's house before, by explaining that "everything is the same as it was"(9). The second person narration adds an element of confusion regarding the double presence of the characters, making it very difficult to distinguish who the narrator is and if the narrator is Felipe, General Llorente, or both. Does anyone have any idea?

Finally, I am not surprised I was confused by the novel. The ending I predicted in my head was completely turned around and I was fairly disgusted by the integration of burning and skinned cats in the novel. Hopefully we will discuss this in class, however, I am hesitant to revisit those scenes.