44 pages • 1 hour read
Benito Perez GaldosMarianela
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1878A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary: “More Absurdities”
Pablo and Nela continue to walk until they are peering at the sea. Nela wanders off, lost in her daydreams of flying. Pablo tries to get her attention, finally succeeding in getting Nela to lay her head on his shoulder. He tells her of the books his father reads to him, some of which interest him very little. However, last night, Pablo’s father read to him about beauty, which he determines to be “the outcome and radiance of goodness and truth” (63). He told his father that Nela symbolizes this goodness and truth for him, and that even without sight, he can tell she is beautiful. His father had laughed and said simply “yes” (65).
Pablo turns to Nela and asks, “Tell me—are you not beautiful—very pretty?” (65). Nela hesitates and is briefly lost in observing her reflection in the water. She tries to see what Pablo speaks of, asking uncertainly, “And the book said I was beautiful?” (66). Pablo insists that she is and that he knows better than those with sight, who can abstract the truth. Lacking sight, Pablo believes that he possesses true clarity. He declares his love to Nela, embracing her, though she does not respond. Nela breaks from his embrace and glances at her reflection in the water once more, declaring herself hideous. Pablo does not hear her self-admonishment.
Pablo and Nela return home, where they encounter Pablo’s father with Teodoro and Cárlos. Teodoro takes Pablo aside to examine him and see what he can do to fix his eyes. Francisco dismisses Nela as Pablo’s eye appointment will take the entire day.
Chapter 8 Summary: “And Yet More”
The next day, Pablo and Nela set out for their daily walk. This time, they proceed towards the mines, going down into the excavations. Pablo tells Nela that Teodoro may be able to give him his sight. While he does not understand the more complicated medical discussion between Teodoro and his father, he can tell that the news is promising, given his father’s tearful and joyful response.
Together, the two decide to go to La Trascava, where the deep abyss lies. There, Pablo and Nela sit overlooking the abyss where Nela’s mother jumped to her death. Pablo talks excitedly about the possibility of seeing Nela’s face and confirming her beauty with sight. He is confident that she is beautiful, and that through the power of sight, he should be able to love her better. A distracted Nela comments on the beauty of the abyss, where flowers have grown along the edges. She comments on the voices coming from the abyss, which sound like weeping. Pablo declares that he wants to marry Nela whether he gains his sight or not. Nela cries and tries to pass off her tears as rain when they fall on Pablo. He senses her sadness and tells her that if he has to choose between his sight or being with Nela, he would much rather give up the possibility of sight to stay with her. He tells her, “You live here, in my heart, and to me you are more lovely and enchanting than anything on earth” (78). This delights Nela to the point where she starts to believe that she might be as beautiful as Pablo imagines her to be.
Eventually, Pablo grows tired and falls asleep. Nela sings him a lullaby and stays awake. She hears a voice from the abyss call out, “[d]aughter come… daughter come” (79).
Chapter 9 Summary: “The Brothers Golfín”
Teodoro spends several days observing Pablo and examining the workings of the mines of Socrates. He spends much of this time with Cárlos and Sofía. One evening, the three of them decide to take a walk along the mines with Sofía’s excitable dog, Líli, darting ahead of them. Eventually, they arrive at La Trascava, where Líli has made a dash forward towards the abyss. At the same time, they notice Nela hiding behind a rock and call to her. Sofía orders Nela to bring Líli back to her. Nela crawls along the edge of the abyss in the attempt to catch Líli, who eventually gets caught in the briars. Nela untangles Líli from the brambles, which Sofía is less than thankful for. Sofía blames Nela for luring her dog to the abyss and forces the young girl to walk in front of them while carrying Líli in her arms so that she can keep an eye on them.
Teodoro remarks that despite all Sofía’s care for Líli, she cannot seem to spare some money for shoes for Nela. Sofía protests that Nela would wear out the shoes in mere days. Thinking that Teodoro is rebuking her philanthropic spirit, she insists that she exercises her charity in other ways. She expresses spite towards Nela’s pitiful form. Cárlos interjects by commenting on Nela’s intelligence, which has yet to develop because she lacks formal schooling. He mentions that he saw her talking to her mother in the La Trascava abyss the other day, a sign of her superstitious spirit. Sofía expresses disdain for Nela’s mother’s act of suicide, decrying its sinfulness. Teodoro, in turn, insists upon having sympathy for Nela’s mother’s struggles and for Nela’s poor circumstances as an abandoned child. Sofía and Teodoro argue about the social solution for orphans and other abandoned children. Teodoro insists that one viable solution is that all married couples without children should adopt a child to ensure that every child has someone to care for them. He implicates Sofía in this solution, which irritates her greatly.
Before Sofía and Teodoro can continue their debate, Teodoro notices blood on the ground. He determines the blood is from Nela’s feet, which must have bled after rescuing Líli from the briars. Sofía grabs her dog from Nela, unable to bear the sight of blood coming from Nela. Teodoro removes a thorn from Nela’s feet using a pocket tweezer and bandages the wound with his handkerchief. He then places Nela on his shoulders and has her wear his hat and use his walking stick, a sight that Sofía finds comical.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
In Chapters Seven and Eight, the novel continues to explore Pablo’s growing curiosity about the notion of beauty, which is accelerated by the possibility of his gaining his sight. This growing curiosity mirrors the colonial mystery and intrigue of the New World, which is represented by Nela. Pablo’s obsession with beauty is projected upon Nela, who he suspects to be beautiful, given his adoration for her. In much the same way, Spanish colonial powers had hopes and aspirations for the New World. However, Nela is unprepared to relinquish Pablo’s blindness, which has allowed the two of them to adore each other in harmony. The two sustain an illusion of the world as one is literally blind to it while the other possesses primitive knowledge and refuses to be civilized. Nela’s reliance on Pablo’s blindness ensures that their relationship never changes, and thus, Teodoro’s gift of sight is the apt rupture to their connection.
Pablo and Nela’s time spent by La Trascava also foreshadows the latter’s doom. Despite the tragedies that took place in the abyss, including Nela’s own mother’s suicide, La Trascava represents for the two of them a place of refuge. Their adherence to this site demonstrates an unwillingness to depart from a literal and figurative darkness. At this moment, they cling to the unknown despite its traumatic history, which continues to haunt them in the present. For instance, Nela hears her mother at the abyss calling out to her, “[d]aughter come… daughter come” (79). The voice appears to beckon Nela to join her in death in La Trascava. As the possibility of Pablo’s sight grows near, the traumatic history of the cavern comes to claim those who refuse to leave or change.
The following chapter demonstrates the predominant attitude towards charity and poverty in Socrates through Sofía and true generosity through Teodoro. For people of some social standing like Sofía, the appropriate forms of charity are performed through social functions. However, Teodoro articulates a sincerer form of charity through individualized acts of benevolence. For instance, Teodoro comes to Nela’s defense in response to Sofía’s cruel treatment of her by asking his sister-in-law why she treats a dog better than a human girl. In his critique, he demonstrates the hypocrisy of the form of charity frequently exercised by people of status. Their charity is often self-serving rather than coming from a place of true compassion. This is further demonstrated by Sofía’s refusal to help Nela once they learn that her feet are bleeding. Teodoro personally bandages Nela and carries her, showing a type of care that contrasts the predominant understanding of charity in Socrates.
