Character Clues

Character Analysis

Location

García's descriptions of place are utterly seductive (and sometimes deceptive), because they completely immerse us in the perceptions of the characters. Celia's love affair with the ocean outside her home—and Pilar's confirmation of the dazzling array of blues that surround the island—convince us that she does indeed live in a tropical paradise. There's something so Tempest-like about Cuba when we see it through the eyes of these two characters, like magic is hanging in the air all around them. That's just how Pilar describes it when she's there:

There's a magic here working through my veins. There's something about the vegetation, too, that I respond to instinctively—the stunning bougainvillea, the flamboyant and the jacarandas, the orchids growing from the trunks of the mysterious ceiba trees. And I love Havana, its noise and decay and painted ladyness. (235)

But there's another side to this place. Cuba's natural beauty is one thing; the condition of its society is another. That "decay" that Pilar speaks of so lovingly is really there as well, and we get to see glimpses of it as we move through the story. When she and Lourdes arrive at Celia's house in Santa Teresa del Mar, Pilar notes the rotting vegetation, broken tiles and refrigerator that is nothing but "a bulk of rust" (217). It's like the country is eking by on the resources it had before the Revolution.

Because Dreaming in Cuban focuses so strongly on place, it's easy to overlook the importance of where the characters are in time. That sounds pretty groovy and all, but we have some fairly down-to-earth reasons for drawing attention to issues of the space/time continuum.

García herself wants to make sure that we understand when we are, even if characters like Felicia do not. The opening of the book situates Celia 11 years after the Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961). Lourdes prepares carefully for America's Bicentennial celebrations (1976), and Pilar samples the delights of punk culture in full swing. Each of these moments in time are uniquely connected to the characters who participate in them, giving us further insight into their personalities and philosophies on life.

García also intersperses Celia's letters (written in an earlier period) throughout the novel, so that each passel of them reveals information crucial to events unfolding in the narrative. The letters reveal truths about Celia's existence, but also help us locate ourselves in an otherwise fragmented timeline.