María · Chapter
I explained
Efraín recalls his departure from home as a boy to study in Bogotá.
What happens
Efraín recalls his departure from home as a boy to study in Bogotá. The night before, his sister cuts a lock of his hair as a keepsake, and he is filled with sorrow and foreboding. The next morning, his father must loosen his mother's embrace, and María, his cousin, shyly bids him farewell. As he rides away with his father, he looks back and sees María behind the creeper by his mother's window.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
The family's sorrowful farewell and María's shy gesture reflect the theme of love and the sacrifice of parting.
Nature and Memory
The murmur of the Zabaletas river and the hills evoke the natural setting that becomes a memory for Efraín.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“I was still a mere boy when sent away from home to study in ⸻ College, founded a few years before in Bogotá, and then well known all through Colombia.”
Efraín was very young when he was sent to a well-known college in Bogotá, which had been established only a few years earlier.
Sets the context of Efraín's departure for education.
“The night before my departure, after the family gathering in the evening, one of my sisters came into my room, and, without saying a single word, because she could not trust her voice, cut off a lock of my hair; when she had gone, I found my neck wet with her tears.”
The night before he left, his sister silently cut a lock of his hair, and he later felt her tears on his neck.
Illustrates the emotional farewell and the sister's love.
“María quietly waited her turn, and stammering out a goodbye, touched her blushing cheek to mine, chilled by the first feeling of sorrow.”
María shyly said goodbye and pressed her blushing cheek against his, both feeling the chill of sorrow.
Highlights María's timid affection and the shared sadness of parting.