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Terms
The gloom is a product of two components: the fungus that grows underneath High Place and the mind of Agnes (Howard’s first wife, whom he murdered for this purpose). It’s a network of fungus that preserves the memories and thoughts of the people who bind with the fungus. This is how Howard is able to remain immortal: before his death, he essentially uploads his consciousness to the gloom, then downloads it to a new body after he dies. People are able to interact with the gloom while they sleep, even venturing into the thoughts and memories of people who have long since passed away. This is how Noemí is able to meet with Ruth, and how Howard can show Noemí visions from hundreds of years ago.
The Gloom Quotes in Mexican Gothic
The Mexican Gothic quotes below are all either spoken by The Gloom or refer to The Gloom. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 20 Quotes
Et Verbum caro factum est.
She knew what she had not properly seen in her previous dreams, and she did not wish to see now, but there it was. The knife and the child. Noemí closed her eyes, but even behind her eyelids she saw it all, crimson and black and the child torn apart and they were eating him.
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Explanation and Analysis:
After Howard spits bile down Noemí’s throat, she has a vision in the gloom that depicts the Doyles’ ritual murder and ingestion of infant children. The Latin phrase Et Verbum caro factum est translates to “the word made flesh” and refers to God becoming flesh with the birth of Jesus Christ. Howard’s ritual is a perversion of the Christian ritual of communion. During communion, believers consume a piece of bread and some wine as a symbol of Christ’s body and blood being broken on the cross when he was crucified. The ritual serves as a reminder that Christ died so Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia
Chapter 21 Quotes
Noemí clacked her teeth together in fear and thought to cry too, but then she recalled the words, the mantra.
“Open your eyes,” Noemí said.
And Noemí did. She opened her eyes, and the room was dark.
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As Noemí prepares for her escape, she enters the gloom and asks Ruth for advice about how to defeat Howard. The dream ends with Ruth tearing herself apart on the floor, but this time Noemí is able to wake herself from the dream by using Ruth’s mantra (previously she’s had to rely on Ruth’s voice to awaken from her nightmares). Ruth has served as a model of feminine resistance for almost the whole novel—her prior battle with Howard established her as a woman who fought against the patriarchy. This passage is a moment of elevation for Noemí; before this she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam
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The Gloom Term Timeline in Mexican Gothic
The timeline below shows where the term The Gloom appears in Mexican Gothic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20
...like flies caught in the web. The Doyles call this repository of ancestral memories “ the gloom .” Noemí chuckles. She was right—this house is haunted, and Catalina is not crazy.
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...many lives; when he approaches the end of one life, he transfers his consciousness to the gloom . Then, because of the gloom, he can live again in the body of one...
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...to the fungus was dangerous for the miners, and Howard would use his power over the gloom to keep them from getting sick.
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The idea was that Richard and Florence would have more children—more girls. But the gloom affected him. He wanted to leave but couldn’t. So he threw himself down a ravine....
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...would erupt from her body and weave its way into the foundations of the building. The gloom needs a mind, and Howard is no fool who’s willing to offer himself in sacrifice....
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Chapter 22
...Francis that she doesn’t feel like herself when she’s around Virgil. She doesn’t understand how the gloom works, but the house can induce you to do certain things, right? She trails off,...
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...his father that he keeps in his jacket pocket. She asks if Richard knew about the gloom . Francis tells her no, not before he came to High Place. By the time...
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Chapter 23
That night, Noemí tries to enter the gloom on her own for the first time. She lies down to sleep and continuously thinks...
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Chapter 25
...Francis to approach the bed, and Noemí knows that Howard is exerting the power of the gloom on him and that Francis will not be able to resist. She realizes that Ruth...
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Chapter 26
...means ingesting the fungus; it makes the family stronger and binds them more closely to the gloom and to Howard.
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...that could serve as a vessel for memories. Howard could then control that mind, and the gloom . So he offered up his wife. What had once been Agnes became the gloom....
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...why he needed Noemí to do it. And she did not disappoint. Now Virgil controls the gloom . When Howard dies, he’ll be gone for good—no new body this time.
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...But he explains that they’re standing in the heart of the house, the place where the gloom is most powerful. He’s in control now, and he’s going to make them all do...
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...Everything they do here is wrong. Virgil replies that when he has absolute control over the gloom , he’ll need an ally. They can even share the women. Francis picks up the...
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...her body, and she runs over to the body of Agnes. It strikes her that the gloom surrounding them is actually the manifestation of all the suffering inflicted upon Agnes. The sliver...
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