Of Women and Salt

“A person is not idle because they are absorbed in thought. There is visible labor and there is invisible labor.”

This is a quote from Les Misérables, a book that becomes an important symbol in this chapter and in the novel more broadly. Here, the words are literal—María Isabel is simultaneously absorbed in thought and busy at work—but nevertheless, many characters feel fierce competition between their inner lives and outward dispositions. Carmen, especially, tends to suppress her emotions, which is a major sticking point between her and Jeanette even after Jeanette reveals the truth about Julio. 

“In María Isabel, Antonio had found a way to feel without lusting after other shores […] María Isabel thought it had always been women who wove the future out of the scraps, always the characters, never the authors. She knew a woman could learn to resent this post, but she would instead find a hundred books to read.” 

Not only literature but the very act of reading becomes an escape. Most, if not all, of María’s coworkers are illiterate, which the Spanish government uses against them to suppress revolutionary news. For María, reading takes on a feminist dimension too, as she dreams of being able to author her own books. 

“She thought she was calling him to talk about the raid, the neighbor woman. Turns out she has nothing to say about that. Also turns out: sobriety is a daily exercise, especially at night.” 

This passage connects to the first important quote in that it describes an internal struggle that may be invisible to outsiders. Jeanette’s realization about night being worse means it’s the time when she’s alone with her thoughts. During the day, work and life distract her, but at night, with no other obligations, she must work harder to keep from falling off the wagon.