Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mexican Gothic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sexism, Female Independence, and Power
Nature vs. Love
Colonialism
Life, Death, and Rebirth
Summary
Analysis
Noemí sits in a small room in Dr. Camarillo’s clinic, watching over Francis as he sleeps. When they reached El Triunfo they called for Marta to prepare enough tincture for the three of them. Noemi and Catalina took it well, but Francis fell into a deep sleep and hasn’t woken up since. That was two days ago. Catalina checks on Noemí and tells her that she needs to get some rest too. But the truth is that Noemí isn’t sleeping well. She’s afraid of the nightmares she might have. She wonders what people do after witnessing the kinds of horrors that she’s seen. Is it possible to slip back into normality? To pretend and go on?
Although Noemí and the others have successfully broken the cycle of violence at High Place, lingering trauma remains. Though it’s possible for Noemí to pretend that everything is normal (like the cicadas that Francis mentioned), that would be contrary to Ruth’s command for Noemí to open her eyes. Indeed, if Noemí wishes to move on she has to reckon with the trauma that she’s experienced, not ignore it.
Themes
Catalina tells Noemí that two police officers and a magistrate from Pachuca will be arriving tomorrow, along with her father. Noemí assures Catalina that her father will help smooth things out. They haven’t had a chance to get their story straight. They told Dr. Camarillo that Virgil went mad and burned High Place down, but it didn’t seem like he truly believed them, even if he pretended to. Catalina leaves the room. Noemí looks down at Francis, leans in close, and whispers, “Open your eyes.”
Dr. Camarillo continues to be an ally to Noemí. He doesn’t believe what she says about Virgil, but he seems to understand that something terrible happened there, and he helps the women as best he can. When Noemí tells Francis to open his eyes, it’s a wish both for Francis to heal and for him to reckon with the trauma he’s lived through (as Noemí herself needs to do).
Themes
Francis’s eyes flutter open. They smile at each other, and then Francis asks what happened to High Place. Noemí tells him that a few farmers traveled up there and saw that it had burned completely to the ground. But Francis is still worried, since some species of mushroom are resistant to fire. What if any of the fungus survived? Noemí assures him that if that’s the case, they can travel up there and burn it all away. This seems to relax him, and he asks Noemí what’s going to happen when her father gets here. She promises him that she’s going to take him to Mexico City with her—he’s going to love it.
For much of the novel Francis claimed that he wouldn’t be able to survive anywhere other than High Place—that no other environment suited his nature. But here he smiles at the prospect of going to Mexico City with Noemí. He’s no longer committed to his family’s ideas, signaling that he's ready to move on.
Themes
Francis asks Noemí how she’s feeling, and if she’s having any nightmares, but it’s clear that she doesn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he tells her about a nightmare that he had. He dreamed that he was trapped in High Place, and it was even grander than before—the colors were vivid, and the flowers grew in the greenhouse, but they grew elsewhere too, and mushrooms were growing all over the house, and all the doors were sealed. Noemí begs him to stop. Dreams of murder would be less disquieting than the dream that Francis is describing.
Unlike a fairy tale, this novel doesn’t end with a simple “happily ever after.” Francis and Noemí both have trauma that they need to cope with, as Francis’s nightmare reveals.
Themes
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Francis asks Noemí what they’ll do if the fungus isn’t gone. What if it’s inside him? Perhaps Noemí shouldn’t stay so close to him. But she protests and climbs in bed with him. She holds him and tells him that they’ll stay together forever and that he’ll never be alone. She promises. Eventually, Noemí sleeps and does not dream. She wakes up and in the early morning light wonders whether the world is indeed a cursed circle—like the snake that swallows its tail. Eternal ruination and endless devouring without end. Francis wakes up and they share a kiss. The world cannot be predicted, Noemí reflects. But maybe it can be remade to be kinder and sweeter. She kisses Francis again, for love.
Noemí fears that the world may be a cycle of recurring violence and bigotry, just like High Place. But Francis’s kiss reminds her that cycles can be broken; love brought Francis to conquer his prejudice and escape from High Place. The same can apply to the world—love helps people see each other as not just a “body” (as Florence saw Francis, for example), but as someone that can be empathized with, a person who deserves kindness and respect.
Themes
