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Señora Carson
Magdalena, Buck Scales’s wife, first meets Latour and Vaillant when she warns them of her husband’s murderous behavior. After Magdalena is able to escape her abusive relationship, she reunites with Kit Carson (whom she calls “Cristobal”), an old friend from her youth. Eventually, Magdalena comes back to Santa Fé to work with the two priests, serving as a cook for the local nuns and as a personal aide to Latour. Magdalena’s lifelong loyalty and newfound sense of self frequently cause Latour to reflect on religion’s healing power; he is grateful that Magdalena has, after her miserable years with Scales, been able to “bloom again in the household of god.”
Magdalena Quotes in Death Comes for the Archbishop
The Death Comes for the Archbishop quotes below are all either spoken by Magdalena or refer to Magdalena. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 9: Chapter 8 Quotes
[Latour] continued to murmur, to move his hands a little, and Magdalena thought he was trying to ask for something, or to tell them something. But in reality the Bishop was not there at all; he was standing in a tip-tilted green field among his native mountains, and he was trying to give consolation to a young man who was being torn in two before his eyes by the desire to go and the necessity to stay. He was trying to forge a new Will in that devout and exhausted priest; and the time was short, for the diligence for Paris was already rumbling down the mountain gorge.
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Magdalena Character Timeline in Death Comes for the Archbishop
The timeline below shows where the character Magdalena appears in Death Comes for the Archbishop. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2: The Lonely Road to Mora
...not answer. Buck Scales snaps at her, and Latour and Vaillant realize that this woman (Magdalena) is being abused.
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When Buck’s back is turned, Magdalena makes eye contact with the priests and her face becomes “intense, prophetic, full of awful...
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...they ride away, Latour wonders if they are being followed; both men also worry that Magdalena is going to be punished for warning them away. Eventually, they reach Mora, where two...
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The next morning, Magdalena arrives, dirty and bruised. She explains that when Buck went to get his gun, planning...
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Magdalena was born and raised in Taos. One day, Buck and a party of white hunters...
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Finally, Magdalena explains that she was emboldened by the kind faces of the priests to warn them...
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One of the men in the magistrate’s party recognizes Magdalena; when she sees who it is, she rejoices that “Cristobal” has found her. The man,...
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...exists only in Carson’s brain. Over and over again, Carson laments what has happened to Magdalena.
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...his way back, he brought five nuns to build a religious school in Santa Fé. Magdalena became the cook for these nuns, and she gradually regained the beauty and happiness she...
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Book 5: The Old Order
...people against you.” Before he leaves, the Señora gives Latour a piece of lacework for Magdalena.
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Book 7: The Month of Mary
...two men reflect on their friendship, they notice a great flock of birds alighting upon Magdalena. Vaillant reflects that the church’s impact on this young woman’s life is akin to the...
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Book 8: Auspice Maria!
It takes a month for Vaillant to prepare: with Fructosa and Magdalena’s help, he sets up a wagon, containing both the personal possessions he will need and...
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Book 9: Chapter 4
...the same silver toiletries that Olivares gave him 30 years ago; he still talks to Magdalena, recounting to her the story of his arrival in Santa Fé. Frequently, Latour wishes that...
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Book 9: Chapter 6
...death. Instead, he loses himself in memories, often struggling to come to when Bernard or Magdalena asks him a question. Latour feels that there is nothing much left for him: after...
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Book 9: Chapter 8
...Latour is dying. On his death bed, he is attended by the new archbishop, Eusabio, Magdalena, Bernard, Fructosa, and Tranquilino. Bernard struggles to understand Latour’s last words, but they are not...
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