# XXIX explained — Saragossa > Chapter companion for Saragossa by Benito Pérez Galdós. ## What happens The chapter depicts the final, desperate days of the siege of Saragossa, where the city is being systematically destroyed by French mines and explosions. The narrative describes the surreal horror of living on ground that is no longer stable, the silence of a dying city, and the universal, unspoken thought of surrender. In the midst of this, Gabriel encounters Augustine Montoria, who is tormented by an order to execute Candiola, who has been condemned as a traitor. Mariquilla Candiola confronts Augustine, begging him to save her father, and their emotional exchange reveals the depth of her love and her despair. The arrival of Don José de Montoria adds another layer of tension to the scene. ## Themes in this chapter ### War and Dehumanization The chapter highlights the dehumanizing effects of war, where the city is reduced to rubble, people become unrecognizable, and the constant threat of death makes life meaningless. ### Love and Sacrifice Mariquilla's desperate plea for her father's life and Augustine's internal torment showcase the theme of love and the sacrifices it demands, as Augustine must choose between his duty and his love. ### Family Honor and Duty Augustine's conflict is rooted in his duty as a soldier and his family's honor, which clashes with his personal feelings and the moral weight of executing a man he knows is Mariquilla's father. ## Character check-ins ### Augustine Montoria Tormented by the order to execute Candiola, he is in a state of deep despair and seeks death, showing a profound internal conflict between duty and his feelings for Mariquilla. ### Mariquilla Candiola Desperately pleads for her father's life, displaying intense emotion that swings from fiery anger to pathetic tenderness, revealing her love for Augustine and her devotion to her father. ### Don José de Montoria Appears at the Plazuela de San Felipe, acknowledging Mariquilla's care for him and the Christian principle of returning good for evil, while also recognizing the difficulty of pardoning Candiola. ### Candiola Condemned to death for treason, he is imprisoned in the Torre Nueva and awaits his execution, which is the central conflict of the chapter. ### Gabriel The narrator, who observes the scene and tries to console Augustine, while also carrying out his own duties in the ruined city. ## Key lines > The moment of supreme despair came. France was not fighting now, but mining. It was necessary to destroy the soil of the nation in order to conquer it. The lowest point of the siege had arrived; the French were no longer engaging in open battle but were instead using explosives to undermine and destroy the very ground of the city to achieve victory. _This captures the shift in warfare to a more destructive and total strategy._ > It was not like living on our peaceful and quiet planet. It was like having the birthplace of thunderbolts for a dwelling-place, like being in a disordered world, where everything was heaving up and unhinging. Life in the city had become so surreal and violent that it no longer felt like living on Earth, but rather on a chaotic world where the ground itself was unstable and constantly erupting. _This illustrates the psychological impact of the constant mining and explosions on the inhabitants._ > The necessity of surrender was now the general idea; but none showed it, guarding it in the depths of conscience as he would conceal a crime which he was about to commit. Everyone now believed that surrender was unavoidable, but no one dared to voice this thought, keeping it hidden within themselves as if it were a shameful secret. _This shows the collective denial and the immense pressure to continue resisting despite the hopeless situation._ > I have sought death in this barricade of the Coso, and death has passed me by. Numberless comrades fell beside me, and there was not one ball for me. I have tried to get myself killed while fighting at this barricade, but I have survived while many of my friends died around me. _Augustine expresses his despair and his feeling of being cursed to live, which fuels his desire for death._ > What mad things I have said! And what madness hast thou said, Augustine! How I have loved you, and how I do love you!—from the time I saw you first at our house. I have spoken in a frenzy, and so have you, Augustine! I have loved you deeply since the very first moment I saw you in our home. _Mariquilla's emotional outburst reveals the depth and constancy of her love for Augustine, even in her moment of crisis._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saragossa_se/chapters/xxix - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saragossa_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saragossa_se/chapters