Carmen’s Memories
Childhood and War
Carmen’s childhood coincided with the Civil War, and her teenage years with a cruel postwar period. Through her memories and comments, she reveals a glimpse into her happy and fantastical childhood, contrasting sharply with the harsh realities of her adolescence and youth during wartime and its aftermath.
Carmen’s Character
Carmen is portrayed as rather cute and casual. She wears glasses and experiences deafness, which isolates her from the world and others. She is addicted to smoking and pills.
The Man in Black: Alejandro
As the author, narrator, and protagonist, Carmen speaks to herself through the dreamy presence of another character, the man in black. This figure serves as both a pretext and a connecting thread, allowing her to reconnect with the past and express her fantasies. We discover the protagonist through her memories. To define and give meaning to her own identity, Carmen narrates her story to her partner, the man in black. Although he is removed from these events, the fear remains in his consciousness. The man in black acts as a stimulus to her memory, triggering remembrance and reflection. He is a dreamed-up ideal partner, a pretext for the author-narrator-protagonist to let her imagination run free while becoming an active part of the narrative, interrogated and forced to clarify ideas. He acts like a psychoanalyst, disturbing the protagonist’s memories to bring order to the chaotic recollections in her “back room.” Carola introduces a slightly negative new personality to the man in black, revealing a previously unseen aggressiveness. The man in black is an ambiguous symbolic figure, potentially representing the devil, the desired partner, the hero of a romance novel, or the narrator-protagonist’s alter ego. This character enters the scene to create dialogue, representing both the devil and God. He takes a golden box of pills from his pocket, which disrupt Carmen’s memory.
Carola and the Phone Conversation
Carola is a melodramatic character who brings the other two characters on stage. She allows the narrator to see a different image of the caller and helps Carmen find her own identity in Carola, as they share certain similarities. The conversation incorporates elements of horror and mystery. Carola could be interpreted as a split-off part of the protagonist, symbolized by the first three letters of her name matching the protagonist’s.
The Mirror
The mirror reinforces the notion of splitting, reflecting the protagonist’s image. Looking into the mirror, she distances herself from the present and revisits the past. She sees both her present self and the adolescent girl she once was, feeling observed. The mirror acts as a bridge or time tunnel, transporting her to her childhood and youth, where she keeps time-related objects. It also serves as the narrator’s “voice of conscience.”
The Black Hat
The black hat, appearing beneath the creation of the first element of the work, carries a double meaning and is a crucial symbol. The man leaves his hat on the sheets, alluding to the literature of mystery. Beneath the hat, the pages of the novel expand. The hat mediates between the protagonist’s voice and memory. Its black color suggests multiple interpretations. At the novel’s end, 182 pages appear under the hat, representing the dialogue that forms the communicative tissue of the story, arising from the need for an interlocutor.
The Cockroach
The cockroach symbolizes change and the fear of it. Living in an environment of lawlessness and neglect, the narrator expresses an ancient fear. This insect represents the fear of destroying her own memories and past. The man in black becomes a symbol of protection, rescuing the protagonist’s past from potential loss, symbolized by the cockroach.
The Golden Box
The golden box is first mentioned when the man in black offers the protagonist colored pills from it. These pills stimulate her memory but also create disorder. The box connects to other objects: teacups and folios. The man gives the protagonist the golden box at the end, adding to its mystery. The amulet is worth a sewing basket.
The Threads and the Sewing Basket
The sewing basket symbolizes the literary workshop where the author works with threads representing the continuous flow of stories, memories, and dreams woven and unwoven throughout the novel. The threads represent the “labyrinth where Martín Gaite intertwined discursive themes, tying and untying, mixing fiction and reality.” This creates a parallel between the lexicon of fashion and the writing of the narrative.
Objects Starting with “C”
Several objects begin with the letter C, like the initial of the author-protagonist’s name and the novel’s title. The protagonist dreams of being on a beach, drawing a C in the sand, a house, a room, and then a bed—three objects starting with C. The house represents the center of the world and universe.
Cúnigan and Hiding in English: Metaphorical Elements
Cúnigan is an imaginary place symbolizing the protagonist’s desire for freedom, a place to escape reality, dream, and feel free. When the author dreams, she releases her thoughts, spinning and weaving stories that create her own metafiction. The protagonist is drawn to the unknown and to freedom, which she associates with hiding in Cúnigan. Hiding in English symbolizes the birthplace of literature. This childhood game represents the protagonist’s life.