Weird book, huh? I am going to write my blog post about the
epigraph of this book, because Janelle got angry when no one addressed the
epigraph of The Final Solution.
“Man hunts and struggles. Woman intrigues and dreams; she is
the mother of fantasy, the mother of the gods. She has second sight, the wings
that enable her to fly to the infinite of desire and the imagination…the gods
are like men: they are born and they die on a woman’s breast…” – Jules Michelet
So, what does this quote mean? It seems to place a lot of
power in the hands of women. I interpret man to be “hunting” for a woman who is
“the mother of fantasy”. It also implies that man’s great downfall is women.
This quote, along with those beginning all of the previous books we have read,
provide insight as to what is going to happen. Felipe is initially drawn to the
job for money. Then, he is tempted by Aura. She is “the mother of fantasy” and
he must have her. However, we later find out that Aura is really a younger
version of Consuelo. So it truly is a “fantasy” that is tempting Felipe. In the
end of the book Felipe is changed into General Llorante, the deceased love of
Consuelo. Just as Consuelo is projecting her youth through Aura, she
manipulates Felipe to embody Llorante. Therefore, women, whether it be Consuelo
or Aura, lead to Felipe’s (as we know him) ultimate demise.
I think that is an interesting interpretation of the quote. I can definitely see how it makes sense for the epigraph to be describing the power of women, or more like a woman, in this book. Like it says in the epigraph, Felipe "hunts and struggles" while working for Senora Consuelo, but she actually has the "second sight " that controls Felipe and gives her her power. I agree that this whole fantasy is something under her control and she is basically the one propelling the story. She is the one who is creating Aura as well as changing Felipe into General Llorante.
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