The House of the Spirits: Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

Alba is thrown into a dark cell, and the tape on her eyelids is replaced with a blindfold. It is cold and quiet, but she can hear screams and moans in the distance. After about a day, the cell door opens, and Alba is led to a room where she again recognizes the voice of Esteban García. He asks her where Miguel is, but Alba refuses to talk. A violent slap knocks her off her feet, and he asks again, but Alba still refuses to talk. The men beat her on Esteban García’s order and throw her back in the cell. 

The third time Alba is taken to Esteban García, she is more prepared. Esteban orders her to strip, and when she refuses, the men rip the clothes from her body. They strap her to a metal cot and immense pain consumes her body. She wakes later, wet and naked. Her blindfold is gone, and a woman named Ana Díaz is comforting her. She says she knows Alba, but Alba doesn’t remember. “It’s because of the electricity,” Ana says, reassuring Alba that her memory will return. 

Alba is held by Esteban García for a long time. She comes to understand that Esteban’s treatment of her has more to do with revenge than his desire to make her confess anything about Miguel. Ana was arrested with her boyfriend, and the police raped her in front of him before separating them. Soon, Esteban García throws Alba in “the doghouse,” one of six small sealed cells used for punishment, where she somehow manages to keep her sanity. She calls to Clara’s ghost to help her die, and when Clara finally comes, she suggests Alba write “in her mind,” as a testimony of this terrible time. That way, those who try to ignore what is happening will know the truth.

Esteban Trueba stands outside the Christopher Columbus. Inside, Mustafá is gone, and the woman at the desk informs Esteban that Tránsito Soto doesn’t take customers. Esteban raises his silver cane, threatening to trash the place if he doesn’t see her, and Tránsito steps into the room. She is happy to see Esteban and shows him to her office. Tránsito knows Esteban has not come to have sex, so she asks him how she can help. Esteban quickly tells her everything—about Alba’s arrest and Férula’s curse, about Tres Marías, and about the three severed fingers he received in the mail. Esteban figures Tránsito is successful because she knows how to repay a debt, and that her line of work means she knows many important people. Two days later, Tránsito calls Esteban and says she has found Alba.