Aura Blog

In our last class meeting we talked about how magical realism blends the borders between binaries, making it difficult to decipher realism from fantasy. Throughout Fuentes’ entire book he exemplifies this general idea – focusing on the main binary of past vs. present. There are three main overriding themes throughout his story, one of which is the motivation of one of the principle characters, Senora Consuelo, to recapture her youth. This is a binary in itself, being that she is 109 years old during the time in which this story takes place (youth/old age). Aura, who is first presented as Senora Consuelo’s niece, is in fact Senora Consuelo’s puppet that allows her to relive her youth: “Aura is living in this house: to perpetuate the illusion of youth…kept here like a mirror…” (pg 89)
Another main theme which mirrors magical realism is the dream-like world that Felipe Montero lives in. While reading each page one cannot help but wonder what Felipe is truly experiencing as part of his reality from what is a dream. In fact, by the end of the story one cannot help but wonder if the entire story was in fact a dream. First off, the story is told from Felipe’s perspective as it is written in second person and present tense. Immediately, there is a peculiar example that indicates something out of the ordinary when Felipe sees an advertisement that describes someone exactly like himself. The specificity of the ad is extreme, which gives one a surreal initial feeling. After all, how many people are likely to be a historian, living in Mexico, and be able to speak “colloquial French” (pg 5). The entire setting of the story speaks to magical realism and supports this theme of Felipe’s dream-like perspective. Everything is bizarre from what other characters say to the characteristics of the house that Senora Consuelo and Aura live in. For example, when Felipe is shown to his room, he notices that he has a skylight above his head instead of a roof. (pg 31)
Lastly, there is a recurring religious theme. Christian figures, themes and symbols recur throughout the novel, but in a very peculiar way. This first became obvious to me when Felipe went to see Senora Consuelo. When he arrived at her door she was kneeling towards her wall filled with Christian icons such as Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Sebastian, St. Lucia and the Archangel Michael. The peculiar thing was that all of these figures were not rejoicing or even happy. Instead, they were “…figures in that iconography of sorrow and wrath.” (pg 47) In contrast, the demons seem to be joyous in the act of torturing others. Later in this story we see Aura beheading a baby goat, which may represent some sort of religious ritual of animal sacrifice. Finally, the most obvious sign of this inverted religious theme was evident at the end of the book right before Felipe had sexual intercourse with Aura. Before they slept together Aura washed Felipe’s feet; a religious ritual in it of itself. Then, she put a wafer in between her thighs, broke it, and gave half of it to Felipe to eat. This process mimics the sacrament of communion in Christianity. Going along with this inverted religious theme, one cannot help but recognize that the binary of dead/alive is repeated over and over again. Reincarnation is hinted at both in the supernatural relationship between Aura and Senora Consuelo and when Felipe finds his reincarnated identity in the General.
Mexico’s population is greatly divided by class status. In this sense, the country’s population is made up of a distinct binary: rich/poor. For the poor folk it must be difficult to accept their reality, when they see how the people in power have so much more than they do. Perhaps Felipe is meant to be a representative for the poor - where the only aspect of his life that is limitless is fantasy. Perhaps the inverted religious theme also speaks to the feelings of the poor. Many of them are Christian and, most likely, look to their faith for hope for the future. Day after day, as their wishes remain unanswered and their economic status remains the same, they begin to lose faith. Perhaps this explains the disrespect of Christianity in Aura.
Stray animals, such as cats, are common to stumble upon in Mexico. That may explain some parallelism between the recurring themes of cats appearing throughout this story. In fact, cats are often being tortured every time they are present in Aura which may represent warlike times in Mexico such as the Mexican Revolution. In fact, death, darkness, solitude, and extraordinary situations make up the overall tone of this entire story. That being said, most of the story takes place in a house; usually homes are described as calm, comfortable familiar and homey. Oppositely, these vibes could very well be mirroring war times in Mexico and the feelings/nightmares that the Mexicans involved in wars, like the Revolution, must have been feeling towards their home.