The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind

by

Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Shadow of the Wind makes teaching easy.

Inspector Javier Fumero Character Analysis

Fumero is an amorphous and monstrous villain who appears at various points of the story, from Carax’s school to Daniel’s neighborhood. Seemingly cruel and twisted by nature, he’s obsessed with Penélope and tries to murder Carax when he realizes that she loves him. As a young man, Fumero works as a hired killer for the various parties that control Madrid during the Civil War, moving seamlessly among opposing forces while others are purged or fall out of favor; the fact that only the worst villain can thrive within them is an indictment of all the regimes that exist during that time. By the time Daniel encounters Fumero, he’s entrenched within the Fascist regime, enforcing the government’s brutally repressive agenda while using government power to pursue his own vendettas. Although Fumero is never explicitly linked to the devil, as are characters like Laín Coubert or Zacarías, he’s the most demonic and unequivocally evil character. Notably, Fumero voices disdain for literature and a passion for cinema; he quickly internalizes and regurgitates Fascist propaganda. His mediocre and conventional mind represents the kind of banal evil that rises to the top of authoritarian governments.

Inspector Javier Fumero Quotes in The Shadow of the Wind

The The Shadow of the Wind quotes below are all either spoken by Inspector Javier Fumero or refer to Inspector Javier Fumero. 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:
Duality and Repetition Theme Icon
).
City of Shadows: Chapter 31 Quotes

“Look, the one thing that really pisses me off is people who stir up the shit from the past!” Fumero cried out. “Things from the past have to be left alone, do you understand?”

Related Characters: Inspector Javier Fumero (speaker), Daniel Sempere, Fermín
Page Number: 282
Explanation and Analysis:
Nuria Monfort: Chapter 5 Quotes

He revered mosquitos and all insects in general. He admired their discipline, their fortitude and organization. There was no laziness in them, no irreverence or racial degeneration…In his opinion, society had a lot to learn from insects.

Related Characters: Nuria Monfort (speaker), Inspector Javier Fumero
Page Number: 388
Explanation and Analysis:

Fumero found old men revolting – as he did crippled men, Gypsies, and queers – whether or not they had muscle tone. Sometimes God made mistakes. It was the duty of every upright citizen to correct these small failings and keep the world looking presentable.

Related Characters: Nuria Monfort (speaker), Inspector Javier Fumero
Page Number: 389
Explanation and Analysis:

Fumero was very keen on movies and went to the cinema at least twice a week. It was in a cinema that he had understood that Penélope had been the love of his life. The rest, especially his mother, had been nothing but tarts.

Related Characters: Inspector Javier Fumero (speaker), Nuria Monfort (speaker), Inspector Javier Fumero, Penélope Aldaya
Page Number: 390
Explanation and Analysis:
The Shadow of the Wind: Chapter 4 Quotes

It was Laín Coubert, just as I’d learned to fear him reading the pages of a book, so many years ago…I saw how the hand of the angel pierced [Fumero’s] chest, spearing him, how the accursed soul was driven out like black vapor, falling like frozen tears over the mirror of water.

Related Characters: Daniel Sempere (speaker), Julián Carax, Inspector Javier Fumero, Laín Coubert / The Stranger
Related Symbols: Angels and Devils
Page Number: 465
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Shadow of the Wind PDF

Inspector Javier Fumero Quotes in The Shadow of the Wind

The The Shadow of the Wind quotes below are all either spoken by Inspector Javier Fumero or refer to Inspector Javier Fumero. 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:
Duality and Repetition Theme Icon
).
City of Shadows: Chapter 31 Quotes

“Look, the one thing that really pisses me off is people who stir up the shit from the past!” Fumero cried out. “Things from the past have to be left alone, do you understand?”

Related Characters: Inspector Javier Fumero (speaker), Daniel Sempere, Fermín
Page Number: 282
Explanation and Analysis:
Nuria Monfort: Chapter 5 Quotes

He revered mosquitos and all insects in general. He admired their discipline, their fortitude and organization. There was no laziness in them, no irreverence or racial degeneration…In his opinion, society had a lot to learn from insects.

Related Characters: Nuria Monfort (speaker), Inspector Javier Fumero
Page Number: 388
Explanation and Analysis:

Fumero found old men revolting – as he did crippled men, Gypsies, and queers – whether or not they had muscle tone. Sometimes God made mistakes. It was the duty of every upright citizen to correct these small failings and keep the world looking presentable.

Related Characters: Nuria Monfort (speaker), Inspector Javier Fumero
Page Number: 389
Explanation and Analysis:

Fumero was very keen on movies and went to the cinema at least twice a week. It was in a cinema that he had understood that Penélope had been the love of his life. The rest, especially his mother, had been nothing but tarts.

Related Characters: Inspector Javier Fumero (speaker), Nuria Monfort (speaker), Inspector Javier Fumero, Penélope Aldaya
Page Number: 390
Explanation and Analysis:
The Shadow of the Wind: Chapter 4 Quotes

It was Laín Coubert, just as I’d learned to fear him reading the pages of a book, so many years ago…I saw how the hand of the angel pierced [Fumero’s] chest, spearing him, how the accursed soul was driven out like black vapor, falling like frozen tears over the mirror of water.

Related Characters: Daniel Sempere (speaker), Julián Carax, Inspector Javier Fumero, Laín Coubert / The Stranger
Related Symbols: Angels and Devils
Page Number: 465
Explanation and Analysis: