Aura by Carlos Fuentes - Essay Example

Assignment Ref Demolition of the Myth of Machismo in ‘Aura’ by Carlos Fuentes Introduction Carlos Fuentes is a prolific writer. A Marxist by belief, he recognizes the frailty of human beings that leads to unfulfilled dreams, be it the fleeting youth or the unrealized utopia of Marxism. Fantasy and imagery are the weapons he uses in his writings to captivate the readers in the web of past and present, youth and eternity, dreams and reality, hope and despair, Christian beliefs and black magic and so on.

ThemeAura, written in 1962, is a short novel. The emphasis in the novel is in portraying the setting and theme of the story in such a manner as to involve the reader in the inner persona of the characters through their deeds. Señora Consuelo, the aged widow of General Llorente, for all her seemingly fragile physical appearance, succeeds in attracting the young protagonist, Felipe Motero into her web of dark world and darker beliefs. Shockingly enough, Aura is an accomplice much against Felipe’s fancy dreams of rescuing the beautiful girl from the clutches of the old witch.

Felipe, being a historian himself, capable of coming to terms with the past, cannot but accept the reality of demolition of his machismo in the trappings of Consuelo and Aura. In a bizarre ending to the story, the reader finds him making love not to Aura as he is wont to, but to Consuelo, even as Felipe finds himself a convert to the black beliefs of the two ladies! One is reminded of a female spider eating its mate after lovemaking!Supporting EvidenceThe story is replete with contrasting images and situations to support its theme.

From the open streets of the city and its crowds, Felipe was inexorably drawn into the dark and dingy (last name) 2house, in search of an assignment and encounters the old lady lying in her bed. The assignment of completing the memoirs of General Llorente and the pay that goes with it are alluring but the condition of residing in the house repels him until the wily old lady calls in her beautiful niece Aura. The entrapment is beginning and the young historian, staring into the very green eyes of Aura, accepts to stay.

He has his dinner on the first night along with Aura, with Consuelo excusing herself on a pretext. In a way, he is journeying into himself, exploring uncharted territories, groping and fearful of pitfalls but allured by promises of pot of gold (aurum) at the end of rainbow! As Felipe starts working on the memoirs, one begins to glimpse the characterization of the aged Consuelo. She remained childless and was ravaged by age, in spite of her irrational beliefs in medicinal plants and strange devotional objects.

Her kinky nature is also revealed in her childhood habit of torturing cats! She fantasizes herself in the form of her young and beautiful niece, Aura, who apparently shares some of the idiosyncrasies of her elder relative. The incidence of Aura skinning the goat in the kitchen unmindful of the cries of the cats that were set on fire by Consuelo is a scene in point. Felipe is surprised and disgusted but is blind to the reality of what he is in for, even as Aura draws him into her arms saying, “You are my betrothed”.

He dreams and fantasizes about saving her from the clutches of the old lady. He is a sacrificial lamb following the butcher!Felipe did not get the memoirs of Consuelo’s husband in one go. He gets them in installments, the same way as he is being drawn into the vortex of the mystery of the story. He willingly participates in the black acts of Aura to make love to her, wakes up later and finds thetwo ladies smiling at him. He was still not sure if Consuelo was a witness to their romancing but (last name) 3is already in their power.

In the final part of the story the subjugation of Felipe’s mind is complete. He examines a photograph of the General and his wife in their younger days and is disturbed seeing the shades of himself and Aura in them! He goes to Consuelo’s dark room as preplanned to make love to Aura but instead recognizes Consuelo murmuring in his ears, "She will return, Felipe. Together, we will bring her back." The black act is complete and the surrender is total.Conclusion The myths of frailty of women especially the elderly, of the vulnerability of young and beautiful women as well as the self-proclaimed machismo of young men were all put to silence in this enigmatic work of Carlos Fuentes.

(last name) 4ReferencesKantaris, G., “Introduction to Hispanic Texts” Unknown.