Aura's aura

Just like Felipe, the reader is lured into the house of Senora Consuelo and is forced to rationalize the impossible.  This reminded me of a concept I learned in psychology class which argues that humans have a natural inclination or need to place order or meaning on all events or beliefs.  Although some portions of the plot unravel in Aura, explanations for the major oddities of the book are never really explained. This causes us as readers to search for a meaning and certain understanding of the unexplainable events in the book. It seems as though there is no understanding in this book, as the ridiculousness certainly overshadows the logic. Fuentes is almost challenging the reader to explain situations with little rational meaning. This being said, the disturbing nature and open-endedness of the mysteries in the tale undoubtedly impact the reader (or me at least) on an emotional/ really disconcerting level.  Fuentes really pulls the reader into the story by using the second person. I didn’t feel like I was part of the story, however, feeling no real connection with the four distinct characters, but did find myself thinking hypothetically and abstractly when “you” was used in the text. It sparked thought and put me in a sort of fantasy state. I think this is what allows the reader to really be affected by the creepiness of the story and feel the chills in our bones. The story functions to create extremely unnerving literal auras around the characters, house and story as a whole. The writing transports us into this aura so we can feel it first hand.