Aura (novel)
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''Aura'' is a short novel written by Mexican novelist
Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...
, first published in 1962 in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. This novel is considered as a fantastic literature for its remarkable description of “dreamlike” themes and the complexion of “double identity” portrayed by the character. Its narrative is completely carried out in second person. The first English translation, by Lysander Kemp, was published in 1965 by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...
. It was adapted to the screen in 1966 in ''
La strega in amore ''La strega in amore'' (also known as ''The Witch'', ''The Witch in Love'' and ''Strange Obsession'') is a 1966 Italian drama- horror film directed by Damiano Damiani. It is based on the novel ''Aura'' by Carlos Fuentes. Cast * Richard Johnso ...
'', starring
Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...
,
Rosanna Schiaffino Rosanna Schiaffino (25 November 1939 – 17 October 2009) was an Italian film actress. She appeared on the covers of Italian, German, French, British and American magazines. Early life She was born in Genoa, Liguria to a well-off family. Her mot ...
and
Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' ( ...
.


Plot

Felipe Montero is a young historian looking at the newspaper one day when he sees a job posting that catches his eye. The poster is looking for a French-speaker, youthful, passionate about history, and able to perform secretarial duties, who would be a live-in assistant to help organize and finish the memories of her deceased husband, General Llorente. This strikes Montero because he feels as though the posting is describing everything about him, and only lacks his name. For a few days, Montero ignores the posting, assuming someone will have already taken the job, but every day Montero returns to the newspaper, eventually unable to avoid it anymore. The posting gives the address "Donceles 815", a street mixed with old and new houses, side by side. Upon arriving at the address, Montero finds the house to be completely dark, with the door ajar, as if the owner were waiting for him to arrive. Montero then enters the dark house, and hears a voice in the darkness calling to him. The voice guides him through the dark house, upstairs, to a room where an old widow, Consuelo, is lying in her bed. The old widow appears to be expecting Montero, and immediately begins to explain what she needs Montero to do: organize, finish, and publish her dead husband's journals before her death. While she is explaining this task to Montero, the widow's niece, Aura, enters the room. Montero is mesmerized by the young niece's beauty ‒ especially her bright green eyes. Shortly after, the widow directs Montero to the room where he will be living. Montero passes the night in his room, where only a small amount of light is provided. The next morning, Montero wakes up to find Aura in the kitchen preparing breakfast, while the old widow remains in her room in bed. Aura and Montero have breakfast together, though Montero finds the breakfast awkward and long because the young niece barely speaks. Afterwards, Montero heads to the office to begin his work constructing the memories and journals of General Llorente. As he reads the General's writings, he makes some discoveries about Consuelo's infertility, her fantasy of having a child, and her obsession with youth. While working, Montero cannot seem to get the beautiful image of Aura out of his head, and soon begins fantasizing about her. These fantasies eventually begin to grow stronger, and often take over many of Montero's thoughts. Then, over the next few days, Montero realizes a strange connection between the old widow and Aura: often, whenever Consuelo is speaking, Aura's lips will move as well, and motions that Consuelo makes are also made by Aura at the same time. Montero is intrigued by Aura's beauty, and one day enters her room to find her in bed. Montero holds Aura in bed, when suddenly the youthful Aura transforms into the old widow, Consuelo, in his arms, as he himself transforms into the old General Llorente. Throughout the story, Felipe Montero and Aura project the youth of life, and mirror the younger lives of General Llorente and Consuelo. For this reason, Felipe is able to connect so much with the General through his writings, and Aura mirrors the actions and movements of the old widow. The entire story depicts the eventual progression of Felipe Montero's transformation into the General, as well as Aura's transformation into Consuelo.


Publication

This short novel was banned in 2009 from the curricula of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's Department of Education, due to the alleged use of lewd language. An English version is released on iBooks.


See also

* 1962 in literature *
Mexican literature Mexican literature is one of the most prolific and influential of Spanish-language literatures along with those of Spain and Argentina. Found among the names of its most important and internationally recognized literary figures are authors Oc ...


References

https://web.archive.org/web/20141028032542/http://www.mml.cam.ac.uk/spanish/abinitio/fuentes/ {{Authority control 1962 fantasy novels Mexican novels adapted into films Novels by Carlos Fuentes Spanish-language novels Second-person narrative novels