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Chapter 24
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 rushes down the darkened hallway to Catalina’s room. She yanks the door open and finds Catalina sitting on her bed and Mary, the maid, standing motionless, her eyes fixed on the floor. Noemí tells Catalina that they’re leaving and goes to grab her hand, but Mary slams into Noemí and shoves her against the vanity. The force of the hit makes Noemí drop the razor, and she searches for a weapon as Mary chokes her. The maid speaks with a raspy, old voice—the voice of the house. “Ours,” she says.
This scene helps the reader imagine why Ruth shot her family members. Howard controlled them through the gloom, just like he is controlling Mary. Thus, Noemí’s escape attempt already mirrors Ruth’s; though Howard is the patriarch, escape is impossible without hurting others, too.
Themes
Suddenly, Mary is yanked away by Francis. But she shoves him to the floor too, and grasps at his throat. Noemí picks up the straight razor and cuts Mary’s throat. Francis hurries to Noemí and asks if she’s okay. They locked Francis in his room, but he broke out and ran here as fast as he could. Noemí turns and grabs Catalina. She’s unresponsive; Noemí nearly has to drag her to get her to come with them. They hurry down the hallway.
Now Francis comes to save Noemí (though he was absent when Virgil attacked her). Yet, this story refuses to be reduced to yet another man-saves-distressed-woman tale. Instead, just after Francis saves Noemí, she in turn has to save him. There’s an equality between the sexes here.
Themes
Florence yells for the three of them to stop. She’s pointing a rifle at Noemí. Her voice is calm, but in her cold eyes Noemí can read savage murder. Noemí drops her knife, and Florence marches the three of them to Howard’s room. The old man lies in his bed, propped up by a number of pillows and wheezing heavily. Dr. Cummins tells Florence that there isn’t much time—they need to begin the transmigration. Virgil may be missing, but Francis is here, and that’s what matters. Noemí objects, but Florence coolly assures her that Francis is the target of the transmigration.
Once again Howard’s eugenics-based theories are proven false. He argued that a person’s criminality is visible in their face—that common genetic characteristics exist among all criminals. But here Noemí notices that Florence, one of the supposedly genetically superior Doyles, has “savage murder” visible in her eyes, and she’s even happy to sacrifice her own son for Howard’s benefit.
Themes
Francis walks meekly towards the doctor. Noemí tries to grab him, but Florence points the rifle at her and tells her to sit. Things could have been so easy, she says, but Noemí had to go and cause a ruckus. Noemí shouts that Virgil tried to rape her, but Florence just tells her to hush. Noemí then whispers to Florence: Francis is her son. How can she do this? Again Florence dismisses her. It’s just a body.
Rather than fight back, Florence tells Noemí that she should have submitted to the sexism and patriarchy of High Place. Florence is a rape victim herself, and though Noemí hoped for some empathetic connection between them when she admitted that Virgil tried to rape her, Florence is cold and uncaring. Noemí’s escape attempt has relied on the unification of wronged women (Ruth, Catalina, and Noemí so far), so the fact the Florence continues to resist Noemí and even sides with the sexist men makes her seem especially villainous.
Themes
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Howard begins reciting a series of words in Latin. Francis is whimpering, his lips moving softly in prayer. Howard raises his hands, as if to cup Francis’s head between them. Noemí recalls how he shoved his tongue down her throat. What a demented cycle, she thinks: Children devoured as babies, children devoured as adults—it’s as if they’re little more than food for a cruel god.
Though Francis’s willing submission may seem unbelievable, Howard has taught his family to be obedient through violence and abuse. Additionally, it’s made explicit here that Howard’s continued survival depends on the death of children—that the past survives at the cost of the future.
Themes
Because they’re all distracted by the ceremony, no one notices Catalina sneak behind the doctor and grab his scalpel. She moves toward Howard, and her expression changes to naked hatred. She stabs Howard in the eye, then again and again in the face. Howard yells. Francis, Florence, and Dr. Cummins all fall to the floor. Noemí jumps to her feet and begins to pull Francis from the room. But Florence leaps on Noemí like a wild animal, and the two crash to the ground. Noemí reaches for the gun, but Florence grabs her hand and crushes it with inhuman strength. She grabs the gun and points it at Noemí, ready to fire.
Thus far in the novel Catalina has served as the damsel-in-distress, a bride locked in a bedroom waiting for someone to save her. But here she transforms from a passive to an active character; she saves her saviors (Noemí and Francis) and makes herself instrumental to her own escape.
Themes
Francis tackles his mother off of Noemí, and the two go tumbling. The gun discharges, and for a moment Noemí doesn’t know who was shot. Then Francis rolls Florence away and stands up. His eyes are bright with tears and he’s shivering. He stumbles toward Noemí, shaking his head, and then Howard lets out a terrible groan. He holds out his hands, commanding Francis to approach the bed, and Noemí knows that Howard is exerting the power of the gloom on him and that Francis will not be able to resist. She realizes that Ruth didn’t shoot herself—rather, Howard forced her to kill herself in a desperate act to save himself.
Francis shoots his own mother, which is perhaps a symbolic act of severance from his family. Importantly, Francis cries after the shooting, showing that he anguishes over the violence. In contrast, Florence smiled as she pointed the rifle at Noemí. Additionally, the mystery about Ruth is finally solved: Howard murdered her.
Themes
Howard slides an amber ring off of his finger and holds it up for Francis. Noemí calls his name, but so does Howard, and Francis ignores her. “It’s in the blood,” Ruth had said. Noemí raises the rifle and shoots Howard twice. Francis snaps awake, and Howard begins to convulse and shriek. Noemí grabs Francis and Catalina, and the three run from the room.
There are two competing voices trying to get Francis’s attention: Noemí (representing love) and Howard (representing genetics/nature). Francis chooses love and follows Noemí, though it requires that she shoots Howard first.
Themes
