The Letter A

 

            While reading Aura, the name Consuelo really stuck out to me. My 7 years of Spanish did me some good because they taught me that feminine nouns and adjectives almost always end in --a. Out of the 100 most popular Hispanic baby names for girls in 2012, only about 20 of them end in a letter other than --a. Even in the English language, the top 6 most popular girl names in 2013 end in –a.  Moreover, in Spanish, masculine nouns and adjectives almost always end in –o. This is mostly why the name Consuelo caught my attention. Like Susan Barton of Foe, she is the father of her story who needs Felipe to keep the memories of her husband alive.

            According to Spanishdict.com, “Consuelo” is translated into solace. Consuelo needs to preserve a younger version of herself through Aura and a younger version of her late husband through Felipe in order to be at peace with her state of being. In many ways, she emanates characteristics typically associated with masculinity. She is authoritative and dominant. She lures Felipe into her house to preserve the General’s stories and she doesn’t allow Aura to leave its premises. Her power over these figments of her imagination is unyielding. In that dark and decrepit house, Consuelo is able to keep all versions of herself and her husband—young and old. Even as she grows older, her legacy lives on through Aura. She is the only one who holds her stories and she is the only one who can let her captives go.