Of a Real That Has Yet to Come

walks on, hesitatingly and yet confidently. An incurable drunkard, he has already taken one courageous drink, despite the early morning hour, to celebrate the return of his ex-wife Yvonne whom he has been awaiting at the Quauhnahuac bar (his chance to take a few extra glasses of whiskey). They will make it back to the Consul's villa foot. On the whole the Consul succeeds in putting one foot more or less regularly in front of the other, or at least he manages to do so next to Yvonne. Meantime he speaks almost solemnly somehow, anyhow, they moved on (109). Somehow, any-how: that is to say, anyhow, somehow. The day promises to be long and difficult. Many ordeals await the Consul prior to the evening of this Festival of the Dead when he too must meet death. These are ordeals (with the exception of the final one) from which he will emerge victorious, thanks to the persistent, semi-comatose inebriation which puts him, as it were, beyond danger's reach. The first obstacle will be an early morning meeting with an eager compatriot who is worried to see him lying at the side of the road and who offers him, innocently enough, a whiskey flask to help him regain his composure. In short this obstacle will be quickly overcome by the Consul. His wife Yvonne, who, back at the villa, has now got dressed and waits for him in her room, hardly poses any more of a problem. A long and urgent siesta next to his swimming pool, in which he falls prey to some strange dreams, will do as a temporary diversion (it's only eight in the morning at this point and other things can wait till later). A short time afterwards he will escape with style from the angry reproach of a neighbor who doesn't let himself be fooled and who straightaway puts forth the pertinent question, You're doing what? After that, he somehow or other avoids the sickening moments of the maquina infernal at the Quauhnahuac travelling fair, and he escapes being bogged down at the el Bosque canteen by Sefrora Gregorio, just as he manages to get away from the toros at Tomalin, the mirages at

Computer Science · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Literature, Magical Realism, García Márquez · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration

• The Fragility of Goodness

  Open Access•Martha C Nussbaum, Martha Nussbaum•Fragility of Goodness•2001

  Add to list