Summary
As soon as Blanca arrives at the big house on the corner,
her water breaks. Jaime, as well as Clara and Amanda, assist at
the quick birth. Miguel watches from the closet. Alba is born lucky.
Her stars are just right, and she enters the world feet first. She
has her father, Pedro Tercero Garcia's eyes. Officially, Alba bears
Jean de Satigny's last name, but she goes by Trueba. Blanca tells
her that Jean de Satigny is her real father and that he died in
the desert. Less than two weeks later, Amanda leaves the house.
Jaime does not go after her out of regard for Nicolas, but after
that the two have nothing to do with each other. Everyone in the
family, most notably Esteban, loves Alba dearly. They raise her
under their eclectic tutelage. Nicolas teaches her alternative religion
and medicine. Clara teaches her to read and commune with the spirits.
Jaime allows her into his private library. Everyone allows her plenty
of time alone to play in the basement. When Alba is four, Nicolas
goes off to India for a year, searching for enlightenment. He returns
a vegetarian, writes a book about God and nirvana, and opens a spiritual
institute. Alba is the only member of the family to which Esteban
is able to express his love. They spend weeks at a time together
at Tres Marias. Even at a young age, Alba questions the justice
of the way Esteban treats the workers at Tres Marias. She is the
only person he tolerates such criticism form, although it does not
cause him to change anything. While Esteban's relationship with
Alba thrives, he comes into ever more conflict with the rest of
the family.
Blanca lives in her parents' house, taking care of the
books. Refusing to ask her father for anything, she supports herself
teaching ceramics to the wealthy girls of the city and to a group
of mongoloids and by selling the croches she continues to make.
She entertains a string of suitors. The only one of note is the
King of the Pressure Cookers, whom Esteban hates because he appears
to be Jewish. Alba is afraid her mother will one day run off with
one of her suitors until she meets Pedro Tercero. One afternoon
Blanca takes Alba to the park and introduces her to Pedro Tercero
as the man whose revolutionary songs they hear on the radio. Alba
does not know Pedro Tercero is her real father, but she instantly
understands how much Blanca and he love each other. She becomes
an avid fan of Pedro Tercero's music, to Esteban's great distaste.
Pedro Tercero wants Blanca to leave her family for him, but Blanca
is unable to do so. She tells Alba that it is because she is not
ready to give up the material comforts she is used to, but this
explanation is suspect, as Alba later realizes that her mother enjoyed
few material comforts in her parents' house.
One day, Esteban Garcia arrives at the house in the city
and requests an audience with Esteban Trueba. While they are waiting for
Esteban Trueba to come home, Alba enters the room. Esteban Garcia
is fascinated with her. Overcome with jealously and desire, he simultaneously
attempts to strangle and to molest her. He is abruptly drawn out
of his mad trance when, while making Alba touch his erection, he
asks her if she knows what it is and she matter of factly answers:
a penis. A moment later, Esteban Trueba enters the room. Without
saying anything, Alba runs out. Esteban Garcia asks Esteban Trueba
to write him a recommendation for entrance into the police academy
with a full scholarship. Esteban Trueba does not realize that Esteban
Garcia is his grandson, but he does remember that he is the young
boy who led him to Pedro Tercero Garcia. Esteban Trueba writes the
recommendation.
Just before Alba's seventh birthday, Clara realizes that
she is about to die. She makes all of the necessary preparations.
Slowly, her family realizes what is happening. Jaime want to cure
her, but soon he realizes that her principal ailment is that she
is ready to die. Clara has time to explain to Alba and the rest
of the family that dying is simply another part of life and that
in her death she will not really leave them. Alba does not leave
her grandmother's side for days. Clara finally dies on Alba's birthday,
with her entire family gathered around her.
Analysis
After four chapters covering a relatively small amount
of time each, chapter nine spans seven years. It captures much of
the symmetry of the entire novel, beginning with Alba's birth and
ending with Clara's death, exactly seven years later. In their names,
Clara, Blanca and Alba represent three different facets of a same
element: light or clarity. This becomes explicit when the narrator
informs us that Blanca wanted to name Alba after Clara but that
Clara did not believe the girl should be named after a living person
and suggested a synonym instead. Although each woman's name is a
common proper name in Latin America, they also have other obvious
meanings: Clara means clear, Blanca means white, and Alba means
dawn. Alba's name also reinforces the cyclical nature of the story.
Dawn symbolizes a beginning. With Alba as the third in the line,
and the last woman whose story we read, she represents both an end
and a beginning.
The particular numbers at play in this chapter are significant. Clara
speaks of the importance of stars and other signs at Alba's birth,
pointing toward this line of analysis. Alba is the third generation
of daughters in the story. Her father is Pedro Tercero—Pedro the
third. She is almost born at exactly three o'clock in the afternoon.
Alba is born at the beginning of the ninth—three times three—chapter
of the book. Clara dies on Alba's seventh birthday. The numbers
three and seven are both full of meaning outside of the story as
well. Both are considered lucky numbers. The number three often
represents a cycle and is related to witchcraft—like the three Mora
sisters.
