Catalina Character Analysis in Mexican Gothic

Catalina is Noemí’s cousin. She married Virgil Doyle after a short engagement—her family hardly had the chance to meet Virgil before he whisked Catalina away to High Place. Catalina’s parents died while she was young, and Noemí’s parents became her guardians. It’s to them that Catalina writes her strange letter, appealing for help. Noemí’s father dismisses Catalina’s letter as melodramatic, but Noemí knows something is wrong with her cousin. Indeed, for much of the novel, Catalina functions as the damsel-in-distress. She’s trapped in the bedroom of an old Gothic mansion, prisoner to her brutish husband and slowly losing her mind to the fungus. Yet, Catalina defeats her easy classification as the damsel-in-distress during her and Noemí’s escape from High Place. Their escape attempt is foiled by Florence, who brings the group to Howard’s bedroom at gunpoint. And it’s just as Howard is about to take over Francis’s body that Catalina stabs him, allowing for Francis, Noemí, and Catalina herself to resume their escape. Thus, through Noemí’s assistance, Catalina is able to regain her agency and demonstrate her power against the people who have been oppressing her.

Catalina Quotes in Mexican Gothic

The Mexican Gothic quotes below are all either spoken by Catalina or refer to Catalina. 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:

Sexism, Female Independence, and Power Theme Icon

It was the kind of thing she imagined impressing her cousin: an old house atop a hill, with mist and moonlight, like an etching out of a Gothic novel. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, those were Catalina’s sort of books.

Related Characters: Noemí Taboada (speaker), Catalina

Page Number and Citation: 35

Explanation and Analysis:

Of course he had a point. Catalina was his wife, and he was the one who could make choices for her. Why, Mexican women couldn’t even vote. What could Noemí say? What could she do in such a situation? Perhaps it would be best if her father intervened. If he came down here. A man would command more respect. But no, it was as she said: she wasn’t going to back down.

Related Characters: Noemí Taboada (speaker), Virgil, Catalina

Page Number and Citation: 93

Explanation and Analysis:

Catalina had told her she expected more. True romance, she said. True feelings. Her cousin had never quite lost that young-girl wonder of the world, her imagination crowded with visions of women greeting passionate lovers by moonlight[…] Noemí wondered if High Place had robbed her of her illusions, or if they were meant to be shattered all along. Marriage could hardly be like the passionate romances one read about in books.

Related Characters: Noemí Taboada (speaker), Catalina

Page Number and Citation: 95

Explanation and Analysis:

“When the mine was open, he would have been glad to see Catalina married to me. Back then I would have been worthy. He wouldn’t have thought me inconsequential. It must still irk him, and you, to know Catalina picked me. Well, I’m no two-bit fortune hunter, I’m a Doyle. It would be good of you to remember that.”

Related Characters: Virgil (speaker), Catalina

Page Number and Citation: 146

Explanation and Analysis:

Once could conclude that this was a case of three silly, nervous women. Physicians of old would have diagnosed it as hysterics. But one thing Noemí was not was hysterical.

Related Characters: Noemí Taboada (speaker), Ruth, Catalina

Page Number and Citation: 173

Explanation and Analysis:

“Can you go on?”

“I think so,” he said. “I’m not sure. If I faint—”

“We can stop for a minute,” she offered.

“No, it’s fine,” he said.

“Lean on me. Come on.”

“You’re hurt.”

“So are you.”

He hesitated, but did rest a hand on her shoulder, and they walked together, with Catalina ahead of them.

Related Characters: Francis (speaker), Noemí Taboada (speaker), Catalina

Page Number and Citation: 279

Explanation and Analysis:

Catalina Character Timeline in Mexican Gothic

The timeline below shows where the character Catalina appears in Mexican Gothic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Noemí agrees, and her father tells her about a letter he received from Noemí’s cousin, Catalina, a few weeks ago. In the letter, Catalina made wild assertions about her husband, Virgil... (full context)

Virgil and Noemí’s father write back and forth. Virgil claims that Catalina has been behaving oddly, but she has been improving lately. Noemí’s father insists that Catalina... (full context)

...father hands her the latest telegram from Virgil. In it, Virgil invites Noemí to visit Catalina. The train does not often run through their town, but there is one that departs... (full context)

Noemí doesn’t think it’s fair for her father to label Catalina as melodramatic. She asks to see the letter that Catalina wrote. In the letter, Catalina... (full context)

Noemí finds Catalina’s letter disconcerting. She realizes that it’s been a while since she’s spoken to her cousin—in... (full context)

...they married too quickly, without proper forethought. Noemí admits that her father has a point: Catalina was sending wedding invitations only a few weeks after meeting Virgil. (full context)

Noemí pleads with her father to believe Catalina. She met Virgil briefly, and remembers that he was handsome and polite, but still, she... (full context)

...father reveals that Virgil’s family had run out of money by the time he married Catalina. If they were to divorce, Catalina’s money would go, too. Noemí’s father calls Virgil a... (full context)

...her to visit her cousin, assess the situation, and attempt to convince Virgil to move Catalina to Mexico City if the situation calls for it. He tells her that she needs... (full context)

...affirms, explaining that he doesn’t want a divorce to stain the family name, and that Catalina has already had her share of misfortune—her parents died while she was young, and early... (full context)

When Noemí was a little girl, Catalina would read fairy tales to her. In the stories, the forest was a magic and... (full context)

...quiet so as not to bother Mr. Doyle. Second, Florence is in charge of nursing Catalina, and she needs plenty of rest, so Noemí is not to bother her unnecessarily either.... (full context)

Noemí insists on seeing Catalina. Florence initially refuses, but Francis interjects, reminding his mother that Noemí has traveled a great... (full context)

Catalina sits in a chair by the window. Noemí expected her to be ravaged by disease,... (full context)

Catalina tells Noemí that she has tuberculosis—she used to have a high fever, and she was... (full context)

...the courtesy. Howard then remarks on Noemí’s skin color, saying that she’s much darker than Catalina. Noemí is taken aback, so Howard points at her and repeats himself. He supposes that,... (full context)

The two begin conversing. Noemí explains that her father is very concerned about Catalina, which is why she came to visit. She tells Virgil that Catalina’s diagnosis of tuberculosis... (full context)

...as hostile as she first thought. They talk about the house, and Virgil comments that Catalina finds the house’s reliance on candlelight romantic. This gives Noemí pause; Catalina has always loved... (full context)

...eyes, then tells Noemí that she’s very different from her cousin—she’s charming. Noemí knows that Catalina used to be charming, it’s only when she came to High Place that the charm... (full context)

Noemí visits Catalina in the morning. Her cousin reminds Noemí of a drawing of Ophelia that used to... (full context)

Catalina continues to whisper nonsensically: “The walls speak to me. They tell me secrets. Don’t listen... (full context)

Noemí insists that Catalina is acting very odd; when she was a little girl, Noemí’s aunt Brigida had tuberculosis... (full context)

...in his veins. She can’t picture him showing affection towards any living thing, let alone Catalina. Did he really court her cousin? Virgil assures Noemí that Dr. Cummins is a capable... (full context)

Noemí next suggests that they find a psychiatrist to come and evaluate Catalina. Virgil laughs in her face. Where would she find a psychiatrist around here? There’s a... (full context)

Noemí asks Virgil what he means. He says that he recalls Catalina mentioning how insistent Noemí could be when she wanted a man to do her bidding.... (full context)

...cousin lives in High Place. She asks if the doctor could come and check on Catalina. Dr. Camarillo hesitates—he doesn’t think he’d be welcome at High Place. The Doyles don’t mingle... (full context)

Noemí presses Dr. Camarillo to visit High Place and check on Catalina. He explains that the situation is complicated: he gets money for the clinic from a... (full context)

...plaster figurines of saints. Dried herbs and flowers hang from the ceiling. Noemí knows that Catalina has never been the type to seek out healers, so it’s a little odd that... (full context)

...that she needs more of the medicine that she made a few weeks ago for Catalina. Marta sighs, saying that no amount of tea or herbs is going to help that... (full context)

...for her part, doesn’t care what Noemí calls it. She can make the remedy for Catalina, but it’s going to take a week. The problem, she says, is not an illness,... (full context)

Noemí feels ambushed, like Virgil and Florence planned to scold her together. Poor Catalina. Noemí is strong and resilient, so she can stand up to bullies, but Catalina is... (full context)

...car the other night—he was being rude. His father is old and frail, and now Catalina is ill too, so Virgil’s not in the best of moods these days. Noemí is... (full context)

...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... (full context)

Catalina’s eyes open very wide, and her face grows terribly intense, like a possessed woman. She... (full context)

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... (full context)

...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.... (full context)

...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.... (full context)

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... (full context)

The next day Noemí ventures into the cemetery. Catalina inspired this trip; “You must look in the cemetery,” she said. Catalina once told Noemí... (full context)

...doesn’t respond or move. The shape almost looks like it has a halo. Noemí remembers Catalina’s words: it lives in the cemetery. She feels vulnerable and a little frightened. She moves... (full context)

...their mine used to produce. Doyle is an important name. Noemí doesn’t realize how lucky Catalina is to be part of the Doyle family. To be a Doyle is to be... (full context)

...Noemí, so she heads back to her bedroom. She thinks about the fairy tales that Catalina used to narrate to her: once upon a time a prince saved a girl from... (full context)

...Noemí walks to Marta’s house, who invites her inside. Marta gives Noemí the remedy for Catalina and tells her that one or two tablespoons will be enough. It won’t solve Catalina’s... (full context)

...avoid hurting Marta’s feelings, but she doesn’t believe that it’ll do anything. She then grabs Catalina’s medicine and walks back to town. (full context)

Noemí stops at a small store and buys a pack of cards to play with Catalina. She sends a letter to her father at the post office and then meets Francis.... (full context)

Noemí decides that she and Catalina will have a casino night, like they used to as children. She goes to Catalina’s... (full context)

Noemí chides her, reminding Catalina that Marta’s instructions were to take two spoons at the most. Catalina smiles weakly and... (full context)

...and screams again for help. Finally Francis and Florence appear, and she tells them that Catalina is having a seizure. They all run back to the room, and Francis springs forward... (full context)

...and when he does, he brings Florence and Dr. Cummins with him. Noemí asks about Catalina. Dr. Cummins tells her that she’s asleep and through the worst of it. Florence holds... (full context)

Florence again asks where Noemí got the tincture. Catalina had told her not to tell anyone, so Noemí bites her tongue. She feels like... (full context)

...tells her that she should have more respect for his home. She’s been constantly upsetting Catalina, and now she’s brought her poison. Noemí’s exasperated, and she gets up to leave, but... (full context)

...this house. Virgil berates Noemí: does she think she’s the only one who cares about Catalina? He knows that Noemí’s father didn’t approve of their marriage; he didn’t think Virgil was... (full context)

...so she must forgive him for not being very gracious. He asks her to leave Catalina’s care to Dr. Cummins from now on. There are many things that Noemí doesn’t understand,... (full context)

...room, attempting to read her book about the Azande people. She’s tried to speak to Catalina twice already, but both times Florence has refused her. She feels ashamed, and her book... (full context)

...by the noise and bustle of Mexico City. Francis tells Noemí that what happened to Catalina isn’t her fault. He reveals that Catalina had taken the tincture before and had a... (full context)

But Noemí can’t leave. Virgil would never let Catalina go, and Noemí’s unwilling to leave without her. She would be a failure in her... (full context)

They walk back towards the house. Noemí asks Francis why Catalina is so miserable. She was so happy at her wedding. Is Virgil cruel to her?... (full context)

Noemí tells Dr. Camarillo about Catalina’s seizure and asks him if he has heard of Marta’s medicine ever causing someone to... (full context)

...tails of this information. If it were true, that means the tincture isn’t what caused Catalina to be sick, and Dr. Cummins lied about it. Dr. Camarillo apologizes for not being... (full context)

...the gesture and tells Virgil that she knows this is not the first time that Catalina drank the tincture and had a bad reaction. He tells her that Dr. Cummins already... (full context)

...her words and tries to apologize, but Virgil acquiesces: Noemí’s right, it is his fault. Catalina fell in love with him for the wrong reasons. He thinks that Catalina saw in... (full context)

...can’t change the essence of a thing, he says, and that was the problem with Catalina. She wanted him to be something that he wasn’t—what she saw in him was never... (full context)

Noemí wonders why Catalina would not have returned home, but she quickly realizes the answer: her family. Everyone would... (full context)

...divorce Virgil took a few trips to Guadalajara and then to Mexico City. He met Catalina and liked her softness, her romantic notions. She wanted a fairy tale and he wanted... (full context)

Noemí suggests that Virgil could take Catalina somewhere else and make his own life, if it’s the house that Catalina so dislikes.... (full context)

Noemí visits Catalina, but Florence no longer allows them to be alone together. Mary, the maid, chaperones the... (full context)

Noemí unfolds the paper and sees, written in Catalina’s script, “this is proof.” The paper appears to have been torn from Ruth’s diary. She... (full context)

Noemí is in disbelief; could this really be a page from Ruth’s diary? Where could Catalina have found this? Catalina wrote that this was proof, but proof of what, Noemí wonders.... (full context)

...frowns and tells her that there’s no such thing as ghosts. Noemí persists: what if Catalina is perfectly sane and there is a haunting in this house, but one that could... (full context)

...Noemí feels exhausted, but how could she have slept so late? She asks to see Catalina, but Florence tells her that she’s already gone back to sleep. Noemí asks if she... (full context)

...scoffs and demands to know what’s going on in this house. She wants to see Catalina—right now. She clutches Florence’s arm, squeezing hard as the woman tries to push her away.... (full context)

...came to investigate. But Noemí definitely didn’t yell. Or did she? She demands to see Catalina again, and Virgil nonchalantly tells her to follow him. He leads her to Catalina’s room,... (full context)

Noemí steps out of Catalina’s room, unwilling to have a conversation with her while everyone watches. Virgil follows her out... (full context)

Noemí packs her suitcases, feeling disloyal for leaving Catalina. The Doyles have planned a farewell dinner, and as Noemí walks into the dining room,... (full context)

...repository of ancestral memories “the gloom.” Noemí chuckles. She was right—this house is haunted, and Catalina is not crazy. (full context)

...help her. He takes out Marta’s flask—they told him to get rid of it after Catalina’s episode, but he didn’t listen. The fungus is very sensitive to certain triggers, like this... (full context)

...house, so they can go that way. Noemí tells him that she won’t leave without Catalina, and Francis reluctantly agrees to take her too. (full context)

Noemí is allowed to visit Catalina without supervision, now that she knows the family’s secrets. Catalina seems much more lucid than... (full context)

...belong here. But Francis chuckles, doesn’t she get it? The tincture can sever her and Catalina’s link with the fungus, but it won’t work on Francis. His connection is much too... (full context)

...spit down her throat. A wave of disgust overtakes her body, and she thinks of Catalina and Ruth and Agnes and the terrible things the family has done to them—things they... (full context)

Noemí rushes down the darkened hallway to Catalina’s room. She yanks the door open and finds Catalina sitting on her bed and Mary,... (full context)

...he broke out and ran here as fast as he could. Noemí turns and grabs Catalina. She’s unresponsive; Noemí nearly has to drag her to get her to come with them.... (full context)

Because they’re all distracted by the ceremony, no one notices Catalina sneak behind the doctor and grab his scalpel. She moves toward Howard, and her expression... (full context)

...twice. Francis snaps awake, and Howard begins to convulse and shriek. Noemí grabs Francis and Catalina, and the three run from the room. (full context)

...the dais. Noemí walks toward it and raises her hand to pull the drape down. Catalina warns her not to do it, but Noemí clutches the fabric and yanks it aside.... (full context)

...face, but he keeps coming for her, clawing for her, trying to pull himself up. Catalina picks up the knife that Francis dropped and stabs her husband in the face, piercing... (full context)

Noemí, Catalina, and Francis escape from the chamber and exit the mausoleum back into the open air.... (full context)

...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.... (full context)

Catalina tells Noemí that two police officers and a magistrate from Pachuca will be arriving tomorrow,... (full context)

Catalina Character Analysis

Catalina Quotes in Mexican Gothic

Chapter 3 Quotes

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 9 Quotes

Chapter 13 Quotes

Chapter 16 Quotes

Chapter 26 Quotes

Catalina Character Timeline in Mexican Gothic