Short Fiction · Chapter
Chapter XIII explained
The narrator and Maera witness Luis dancing drunkenly in the street with a procession.
What happens
The narrator and Maera witness Luis dancing drunkenly in the street with a procession. The narrator tries to bring him back to the hotel, but Luis refuses. Maera expresses disgust and resignation about having to kill the bulls for Luis and others like him.
Themes in this chapter
Masculinity and Sexual Anxiety
Maera's contempt for Luis's drunken, undisciplined behavior reflects anxieties about masculine duty and performance in the bullring.
The Absurdity of Authority and Religion
The ritualistic dancing and music, combined with Luis's defiance, suggest a mocking of traditional authority and the absurdity of the bullfight's ceremonial order.
Characters to notice
- Maera
Observes Luis from the balcony, expresses disgust and resignation about killing bulls for drunkards and savages.
- Luis
Drunk and dancing in the street, ignores the narrator's attempts to bring him back before the bullfight.
- Unknown
The first-person narrator who tries to retrieve Luis and discusses the situation with Maera.
Key passages
“I heard the drums coming down the street and then the fifes and the pipes and then they came around the corner, all dancing.”
The narrator hears a musical procession approaching and sees the dancers turn the corner.
Sets the scene of the festive, chaotic street atmosphere.
“He didn't listen to me, he was listening so hard for the music to start.”
Luis ignored the narrator because he was intently focused on the music.
Highlights Luis's drunken absorption in the dance.
“Yes, we, said Maera. We kill the savage's bulls, and the drunkard's bulls, and the riau-riau dancer's bulls. Yes. We kill them. We kill them all right. Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Maera bitterly acknowledges that he and the narrator will have to kill the bulls for all kinds of irresponsible men.
Expresses Maera's resentment and sense of duty.