Mexican Gothic: Chapter 8 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’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.

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.

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. 

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.

 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 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.

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.