Mexican Gothic

by

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Noemí waits outside High Place for Dr. Camarillo. He arrives punctually, and the two proceed to Catalina’s room. Catalina initially seems in good spirits, but as the minutes tick by she becomes more and more agitated. She begins insisting that there’s no reason for Dr. Camarillo to be here, and she hardly listens to the questions that he asks her. Suddenly Catalina babbles like a small child, then clutches her neck defensively. She trembles as she claims that she’s too exhausted to talk—can’t the two of them leave?
Catalina acts like a captive afraid of reprisal. She actively works to thwart Dr. Camarillo, who threatens to expose what could be a lie (the tuberculosis diagnosis). Catalina’s strange gesture is inexplicable; it’s almost like someone else is speaking through her, or maybe she’s so frightened that she can hardly form coherent words.
Themes
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power Theme Icon
Catalina’s eyes open very wide, and her face grows terribly intense, like a possessed woman. She raves that there are people in the walls—dead people, and they speak to her sometimes. Noemí grabs Catalina’s hands to comfort her. Catalina looks at her cousin, then warns her that “it” lives in the cemetery. Noemí must look for it in the cemetery. Then, just as suddenly, Catalina’s face softens. Her episode appears to be over, and she apologizes. Sometimes she says things that she doesn’t understand. Florence walks in with a teapot, eyeing Dr. Camarillo. In response, he collects his things and announces that he’s leaving.
Catalina’s outburst echoes what she wrote in her letter, suggesting that an episode of delirious fever is not the true cause of her ravings, as Catalina and Virgil have previously claimed. Significantly, both times Catalina has confessed something to Noemí (however unbelievable), Florence has entered the room right after. It’s almost as if Florence is monitoring what Catalina says.
Themes
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power Theme Icon
Noemí walks Dr. Camarillo back to his car and asks for his opinion of Catalina. He believes that Catalina needs psychiatric attention—her behavior is not at all typical of a person who has tuberculosis. Noemí is glad that the doctor agrees with her, but she quickly sees the difficulty in her situation: Virgil isn’t going to let her take Catalina away. She feels dispirited and a little silly. What did she expect Dr. Camarillo to do? He's not a knight in shining armor or a wizard capable of reviving Catalina with a potion. She should have known better.  In her gloominess, she recalls that many fairytales end in blood.
Moreno-Garcia here criticizes the fairytale knight-in-shining-armor trope. The man (Dr. Camarillo) doesn’t have the power to help Noemí, no matter how good or heroic his intentions. If Noemí wants to help Catalina, she’ll have to figure out how to do it herself—she’ll have to be the knight, rather than rely on a man to swoop in and save the day.
Themes
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power Theme Icon
After Dr. Camarillo leaves, Noemí goes back inside the house and finds Virgil standing on the staircase. He questions her, but Noemí isn’t in the mood to answer him, so instead she asks him to show her the greenhouse. He agrees, and they walk there together. The greenhouse is small and neglected. The windowpanes are either dirty or broken, and mold cakes the planters. Still, a few flowers flourish. Noemí looks up and sees a stunning piece of stained-glass art: the ouroboros—a serpent eating its own tail. Virgil tells her that the ouroboros is the Doyle family symbol. It signifies the infinite, above and below. 
Noemí knows that Virgil has all the power in this situation, so she avoids talking about Catalina. In the greenhouse Virgil explicitly states the meaning of the ouroboros: rebirth, a cycle of life and death. How this symbol connects to the Doyles, who appear to be in a steady decline since the closure of the mine, remains mysterious.
Themes
Life, Death, and Rebirth Theme Icon
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Virgil tells Noemí that his mother, Alice, designed the greenhouse. She loved it more than any other room in the house, but when she died, no one else would care for the place. Virgil was a baby when she died, so he doesn’t remember her well. He knows that she died violently, though. Not that it matters—it was a long time ago. Noemí knows how Alice died: she was shot by her daughter. Surely such misery—such ugliness—cannot simply be erased. Yet Virgil seems unperturbed.
One can compare Virgil’s reaction to his mother’s death to Francis’s reaction to his father’s death. While Francis seemed bereaved, Virgil appears indifferent, as if he's detached from the past. If the ouroboros is the Doyle family crest, one has to wonder what power the past holds over the present. 
Themes
Life, Death, and Rebirth Theme Icon
 Virgil asks Noemí if Howard explained his theories on superior and inferior types. According to these theories, humans have a predetermined nature. Virgil himself has traveled the world, and he’s inclined to agree with his father: some people are fit, some people are not. Humans are the same as animals, and the only instinct that matters is reproduction and the propagation of humankind. His lecture sickens Noemí, and she refuses to discuss it with him. Instead, she insists that they talk about Catalina. The doctor who visited her today thinks that Catalina needs a psychiatrist, she tells Virgil. He agrees that she should see a psychiatrist, eventually. Tuberculosis is no joke, and for the moment she needs to stay in High Place and rest. But yes, eventually Virgil will get specialized psychological care for Catalina. 
Virgil’s views on eugenics include a kind of determinism, where a person’s genetic makeup determines their actions. This allows for a hierarchy to be created in society—and the Doyles place themselves at the top. Finally, Noemí may argue with Virgil about what’s best for Catalina, but ultimately Virgil makes all the decisions. He does, however, agree that Catalina can get specialized psychiatric care eventually, which is a small amount of progress.
Themes
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power Theme Icon
Nature vs. Love Theme Icon
Quotes
Virgil dismisses Noemí’s protestations and walks away. She chases him down, unwilling to let the discussion end. Virgil explains that Catalina’s illness was worse before Noemí got here. She’s been improving under the care of Dr. Cummins. Noemí again brings up Dr. Camarillo, but Virgil denigrates him. He’s just a boy, hardly out of medical school, who can hardly grow a moustache. Why should Virgil listen to his opinion? He turns to leave again, but Noemí grabs his arm. She demands that he take Catalina to Mexico City. Virgil looks at her coldly, and for a second Noemí sees a fleck of gold in his icy blue eyes.
It's likely that Virgil refuses to listen to Dr. Camarillo’s opinion not because he’s young, but because he’s not white. Additionally, the speck of gold in Virgil’s eyes harkens back to Noemí’s nightmares about the golden woman, but it's yet unclear how the two are related.
Themes
Colonialism Theme Icon
Though Virgil is irritated and clearly disdainful of Noemí, he maintains a civil tone. Catalina is his wife, he’s the one who will decide what’s best for her. He turns and leaves, and this time Noemí doesn’t stop him. She’s angry, mostly because he’s right: Mexican women can’t even vote, so how could Catalina or Noemí expect to stand up to Virgil? It would be best if a man intervened. A man would command more respect. But Noemí can’t abandon Catalina. Perhaps if Virgil can’t be persuaded, she could convince Howard to rule in her favor. Or at the very least, she could try to get Francis on her side. As Noemí leaves the greenhouse, she notices another ouroboros pattern in the tile on the floor. The infinite, above and below, just as Virgil had said.
This passage makes Noemí’s position clear: legally, Virgil has the right to decide what happens to his wife. Noemí, and all women in Mexico at this time, have far fewer rights than men. In her desperation, Noemí wishes for a man’s intervention—someone to come to her rescue. But as was discussed at the beginning of this chapter, no knight-in-shining-armor is coming; Noemí must save Catalina herself, despite her lack of legal authority.
Themes
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power Theme Icon
Life, Death, and Rebirth Theme Icon
Quotes