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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mexican Gothic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power
Nature vs. Love
Colonialism
Life, Death, and Rebirth
Summary
Analysis
Noemí wakes up to Florence entering her room. Florence tells her that it’s lunchtime and places a tray at her bedside. Noemí feels exhausted, but how could she have slept so late? She asks to see Catalina, but Florence tells her that she’s already gone back to sleep. Noemí asks if she could inform her when Catalina awakens, and Florence rudely retorts that she isn’t Noemí’s servant and doesn’t have to tell her anything. Noemí argues with her, but Florence calmly tells her that she should complain to Virgil if she has a problem. Florence leaves the room with a smile, as if she’s just won a battle.
Noemí’s mental state continues to decline, as evidenced by her irregular sleeping hours. Florence continues to spar with Noemí, and while Florence feels as though she’s won, her power over Noemí relies on male (Virgil’s) authority—it’s not her own power.
Themes
Noemí grabs her sweater and heads to the library, where she absentmindedly grabs two books and heads back to her room. She begins smoking a cigarette and quickly finds herself unable to concentrate on what she’s reading. Her eyes land on the corner in her room where the rose wallpaper is stained black by mold. As she stares at it, the mold starts to move. Noemí approaches the wall, mesmerized by the shifting mold. She sees colors in it as it moves: gold and yellow and amber.
Noemí’s hallucination is the most severe symptom of her illness yet. The colors she sees in the hallucination are connected to her dreams: gold like the golden woman, and amber like the ring that the man was wearing.
Themes
Noemí reaches up to touch the mold. She hears a buzzing sound, as if a thousand bees were in the walls. The mold beats to the rhythm of her heart; they beat as one. She forgets that she has a cigarette in her hand, and it burns her, making her yelp. She tosses it into an ashtray. She turns and looks at the mold again, but it’s perfectly still now. Noemí rushes to the bathroom, shuts the door, and splashes cold water on her face. She feels as though she’s about to faint.
Noemí’s having some sort of mental break. It’s ominous that the mold and her heart’s rhythm “beat as one,” because it suggests some sort of relationship between Noemí and the mold, as if they’re living symbiotically.
Themes
A loud knock makes Noemí jump. Florence enters before Noemí can reply. She demands to know why Noemí is smoking. Noemí scoffs and demands to know what’s going on in this house. She wants to see Catalina—right now. She clutches Florence’s arm, squeezing hard as the woman tries to push her away. Just then Virgil strolls into the room wearing the same pinstripe jacket that he had on in Noemí’s dream. It unnerves Noemí; reality and fantasy are blending together.
It's interesting that, as Noemí has a mental break, smoking is what brings her back to reality (only for Noemí to be immediately scolded for smoking in the house). Breaking the rules of the house is apparently what keeps Noemí sane.
Themes
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Florence tells Virgil that Noemí has been breaking the rules again, as usual. Noemí asks Virgil what he’s doing here, and he tells her that he heard a scream and came to investigate. But Noemí definitely didn’t yell. Or did she? She demands to see Catalina again, and Virgil nonchalantly tells her to follow him. He leads her to Catalina’s room, where they find her cheerily drinking tea. Noemí isn’t sure what she expected to find. The scene strikes her as artificially constructed, yet nothing seems exactly wrong.
Noemí is going through a crisis, and she expects to find Catalina doing the same. When she finds her cousin, however, Catalina seems totally fine. But Noemí remains convinced that something is wrong, even if she can’t articulate exactly what.
Themes
Noemí steps out of Catalina’s room, unwilling to have a conversation with her while everyone watches. Virgil follows her out and asks if Noemí is satisfied. She says that she is for now, and she tries to walk away but Virgil keeps following her. Noemí turns and tells him that she wishes to leave High Place. Can Virgil tell someone to drive her to town? The world seems to be collapsing around her, dreams bleeding into reality, and she needs some time away in order to get her head straight.
Noemí’s losing the ability to tell fantasy from reality, and Virgil treats her condescendingly, as if she were hysterical.
Themes
Virgil tells her that all the rain has made the roads too treacherous, so she’ll have to remain at High Place for the night. They can attempt the drive tomorrow morning. Noemí agrees, and just before she walks away, Virgil reminds her not to smoke. It disturbs the family. She tells him not to worry and then looks down at the burn mark on her hand. To her surprise, the mark is gone—her hand has completely healed.
For now Noemí is trapped in High Place, though she’s been promised a ride to the train station in the morning. That the burn mark has disappeared (like the earlier rash) is troubling, but it’s unclear if this is true or another of Noemí’s hallucinations.
Themes
