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Symbols
The ouroboros is a circular symbol meant to represent the cycle of death and rebirth, but the novel complicates this simple meaning by depicting how old, recycled ideas can be harmful to societal progress. Howard Doyle chose the ouroboros as his family’s crest, and the image of a serpent eating its own tail can be found throughout High Place. It’s obvious that Howard chose the symbol because his own immortality relies on cycles of death and rebirth, where infants are consumed in order to fuel the rebirth of Howard’s consciousness in a new body after his current one dies. But Howard’s continuous revival means that his antiquated ideology also persists. He believes in a pseudoscience known as eugenics, which concludes that certain races have superior genetic traits when compared to other races. He also believes that a woman’s duty lies solely in marriage and childbirth. Howard’s immortality ensures the survival of these racist, sexist, and hateful beliefs, and numerous characters in the novel suffer or die because of them. Thus, though immortality can seem desirable, the ouroboros comes to symbolize something darker: a cyclical invulnerability to change and progress that stunts new ideas and preserves old prejudices.
The Ouroboros Quotes in Mexican Gothic
The Mexican Gothic quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Ouroboros. 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:
).
Chapter 23 Quotes
It wasn’t ugly. That wasn’t what repulsed her. But it seemed to her it represented the youthful fancies of another girl, of a dead girl. Perhaps two girls. Had Virgil’s first wife worn this too?
It reminded her of an abandoned snake’s skin. Howard would slough off his own skin, would sink into a new body, like a blade entering warm flesh. Ouroboros.
Related Characters:
Noemí Taboada (speaker)
Related Symbols:
The Ouroboros
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
247
Explanation and Analysis:
Florence brings Noemí an old family wedding dress shortly before Noemí is supposed to marry Francis. Though Noemí has witnessed many horrific visions, what has always inspired terror in her is seeing the effects of female oppression (like when she was horrified that the golden woman couldn’t speak, for example). Thus, it’s consistent with her character that when she sees this dress, which has long been used in the marriages of Doyle women, she is repulsed not by its appearance but by the history of oppression that’s associated with the dress. She knows that young women have been forced to marry men against their will, only to give birth to children that are murdered or be murdered themselves. The dress is a symbol of sexism and oppression, which is why it’s so significant that Noemí is wearing this dress when she later shoots Howard and escapes from High Place. Symbolically, it means that Noemí is exacting revenge for all the women that Howard has wronged, and by fleeing High Place with the dress on, she perhaps allows their spirits to rest peacefully at last.
Furthermore, this passage adds a layer of complexity to the ouroboros as a symbol. Previously the ouroboros had been a symbol for death and rebirth—namely in the context of Howard’s immortality. But by comparing the dress to a snakeskin, this passage makes it explicit that women have experienced cyclical suffering as a result of Howard’s immortality. The ouroboros is hence made to symbolize both Howard’s immortality and its consequence: a repeating pattern of abused women.
Chapter 25 Quotes
He would die, he would slide into a new body, and Francis would cease to exist. A demented cycle. Children devoured as babes, children devoured as adults. Children are but food. Food for a cruel god.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Ouroboros Symbol Timeline in Mexican Gothic
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Ouroboros appears in Mexican Gothic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
...few flowers flourish. Noemí looks up and sees a stunning piece of stained-glass art: the ouroboros—a serpent eating its own tail. Virgil tells her that the ouroboros is the Doyle family...
(full context)
...try to get Francis on her side. As Noemí leaves the greenhouse, she notices another ouroboros pattern in the tile on the floor. The infinite, above and below, just as Virgil...
(full context)
Chapter 23
...dead girl. Perhaps two. It reminds her of a dead snake’s skin and of an ouroboros. Florence forces her to put on the dress so that alterations can be made before...
(full context)
