# XXXV explained — María

> Chapter companion for María by Jorge Isaacs.

## What happens

Efraín returns home to find his father ill with a fever. The family, including María, cares for him, but his condition worsens. The doctor diagnoses a brain-fever, likely brought on by the recent financial loss. María and Efraín take turns watching over him through the night, while his mother prays. The chapter ends with the doctor's concern as the fever persists.

## Themes in this chapter

### Disease and Death

The chapter focuses on the father's severe illness, with fever and delirium, and the family's fear of a fatal outcome.

### Family and Duty

Efraín and María fulfill their filial duties, caring for the father through the night, while the mother prays.

## Character check-ins

### Efraín

Narrator and son, deeply concerned for his father's health, stays up watching over him.

### María

Devotedly cares for her father, warming his feet and helping him take medicine.

### Señor A⸺

The father, suffering from a severe fever and delirium, likely due to financial loss.

### Luisa

The mother, prays and is deeply distressed by her husband's illness.

### Dr. Mayn

The doctor, diagnoses brain-fever and monitors the patient through the night.

## Key lines

> It is nothing. Perhaps, when I got up, I was careless, and took cold.

He dismisses his illness as a minor cold, but his symptoms suggest otherwise.

_The father downplays his condition to ease the family's worry._

> There is no remedy for this. Why does not Efraín come to finish it all up at once?

In his delirium, he calls for Efraín to complete some unfinished business, likely related to the financial loss.

_The father's obsession with the financial disaster surfaces in his delirium._

> It is probably a brain-fever.

The doctor suspects the illness is a brain fever, often linked to mental strain.

_The doctor's diagnosis connects the physical symptoms to the father's recent distress._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mar_a_se/chapters/xxxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mar_a_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/mar_a_se/chapters