Mona by Maria

Arenas employs magic realism by using a series of different binaries to tell the story of Mona. The two most obvious binaries are between men/women and past/present; all the while making it difficult to distinguish what is real from what is imaginary –the essential characteristic of magic realism. From the beginning it is brought to our attention that this story is being told from the perspective of the story teller, Ramon Fernandez, and therefore we know that we are about to read a tale based on what he believes is real. This one-sided perspective is an automatic indicator that this story may have magical realistic components.
Ramon’s descriptions of Elisa are misleading because he goes back and forth between describing her as having very feminine features and then having masculine features; therefore introducing the binary of female/male. Throughout the story he even makes the reader question his gender identity. When he first lays eyes on her he describes her as being absolutely fascinating and extraordinary. Then, he points out that when she speaks she goes from speaking like a lady to speaking more like a man: “…she would being a word in a very soft, feminine tone and end it in a heave voice, almost masculine” (pg 38.) Then, she exemplified behaviors that are often associated with men such as having superior mechanical skills compared to Ramon (pg 40) and how knowledgeable she was regarding architecture and history (pg 42). Every now and then Arenas makes it a point to emphasize her feminine traits as if the author is trying to remind us that Elisa is, indeed a female. For example when he compares her to other women in bed saying that she “was hard to please…(what woman isn’t!)” (pg 43). This alludes to the Arenas’ homosexuality, because through this statement, and others like it, one can infer that he is insecure about his attraction to men. It almost seems as though a lot of why he is attracted to Elisa are due to her more masculine traits but he tries to convince us that he really does like women since that is the norm and what is ‘politically correct.’
The binary between reality and fantasy is present throughout the story and is intertwined with the binary of past and present. Throughout this novella one cannot help but wonder whether Elisa is actually present or if she is just a figure of Ramon’s imagination. He describes her as being extraordinary which leads one to think that perhaps she is just a dream. He follows her one day to see where she goes after they sleep together at night: he sees her go into the Metropolitan Museum and then literally he claims that, “in front of my eyes, she disappeared” (pg 47). In reality people cannot just disappear. Here, Arenas employs magic realism by taking a realistic figure, Elisa, and putting her in an unrealistic situation. In fact, he even goes on to say that “there was a relationship between Elisa and that building” (pg 49) which is unrealistic – how can a human being be in any sort of relationship with a lifeless object? After much investigation he realizes that she disappears into a painting. Here, Arenas blends past and present. The painting that she becomes a part of was a product of Leonardo da Vinci, painted in 1505. Here Arenas attempts to link a product of the past, which seems perfectly beautiful, to the twisted reality of his present. One might interpret this as his frustration with his homosexuality coming though. He has to keep his sex life with Elisa a secret otherwise it wouldn’t be accepted or believed by anyone much like in reality he had to keep his homosexuality a secret since it was not acceptable within the society in which he lived in. He looks at her in the painting and everything seems perfect, timeless, and indestructible; I would imagine this is how he felt about his lovers and loved ones. However, the truth about Elisa and about his sexuality was shunned by others who could not see the beauty nor feel the passion that he saw and felt for both.
Elisa and Ramon continue their secret love affair as the story goes on during which Arenas continues to point out manly features of Elisa’s attitude, such as pointing out her “ravenous appetite” (pg 54.) Finally, the truth comes out and Elisa’s identity is revealed, although, it is an identity that is confused by gender. Arenas discusses the motives behind Leonardo da Vinci’s famous ‘Mona Lisa.’ History tells us that da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was actually a self portrait which da Vinci painted of how he saw himself. This is a controversial idea considering that da Vinci was a man, but portrayed himself as a woman. Through da Vinci’s story Arenas attempts to tell his own. It is possible that he chooses Leonardo da Vinci to help him tell his tale because da Vinci was a man who was, and still is, admired and respected by so many. His’ Mona Lisa’ painting, whether there be controversial meaning behind it or not, still is one of the most famous and iconic paintings of all time. Perhaps Arenas is trying to ask for recognition from his people. He wants to be accepted and remembered, like da Vinci, regardless of his sexual orientation. Through blending the border between male and female Arenas makes a strong statement that gender should not matter; similarly, neither should one’s sexual preference.
At the very end of the story is when Arenas’ sexuality is most apparent when he describes having sexual intercourse with Elisa. However, at this point Elisa is no longer ‘Elisa’ but is now existent in the form of an older man. Ramon says that now is when he was most determined to pleasure his sex partner, more so than he had been at any earlier point in the story. So now is when we see his true sexuality come out in the way he describes the passion behind his sexual encounter with this male partner: “…in spite of my revulsion, tried to give him as much pleasure as I could, hoping he would be so exhausted he would let me go” (pg59). Ramon also explains that he tries to keep the illusion of Elisa while having sex with this ugly old man. In this context, one might interpret Elisa’s character as representing all women in society: he thinks they’re beautiful even though is not sexually attracted to them and he sometimes feels like he has to conform to society by fantasying about women, even though, his reality makes him feel differently: his reality makes him feel intimately attracted to men.