PART THREE: Esteban

Summary

The third section of the novel relates the story of Esteban, the third character who was killed on the Bridge of San Luis Rey. Esteban had an identical twin brother named Manuel. At birth, both boys were abandoned at the front door of the convent of Santa Maria de Las Rosas. The Abbess of the convent showered them with her love; she also taught them to honor God and help in the duties of the church, hoping they would go into the priesthood. As they grew older, neither twin showed any interest in pursuing a clerical life. In fact, they were eager to move away from the convent and take up work in the outside world. After doing many odd jobs, the brothers both became copyists in the theatre.

Growing up in a convent with only females around, Esteban and Manuel became very close to one another. Even though they were quiet and reserved, talking little even to each other, the twins understood each other's feelings intuitively. Esteban felt that nothing could ever come between him and his twin. Then Manuel met Camila while he worked as a copyist in the theater. One day while watching her perform on stage, Manuel fell in love with her, even though he told no one about it. One night Camila came to their home for Manuel to copy a letter to the Viceroy for her. As Esteban observed the two of them, he realized that Manuel was in love. When he questioned Manuel about it, the twin denied having any affection for Camila.

Manuel soon had an accident, injuring his knee. When his leg became infected and painful, Esteban attended to all his brother's needs. One day in a state of delirium from the pain, Manuel cursed Esteban for coming between him and Camila, which made Esteban feel terribly guilty. When Manuel improved, Esteban volunteered to bring Camila to see Manuel, telling him he should follow the dictates of his heart. No longer delirious, Manuel again denied his love for the actress and assured his brother that he had no ill will. When Manuel slipped into delirium a second time, he again cursed Esteban, making him feel guilty. Before long, Manuel passed away, leaving Esteban in a state of distress and guilt.

The Abbess of the convent, Madre Maria del Pilar, came to Lima to attend to the burial of Manuel, the child she had raised. She asked Esteban to help her perform the last rites for his brother, but Esteban refused, knowing he could not bear to see the body of his twin. In his misery, Esteban wandered aimlessly and lifelessly about the city. Filled with concern for the second twin, the Abbess sought the help of Captain Alvarado, who agreed to offer Esteban a job on his ship in an effort to lift him out of his state of depression. Esteban accepted the offer. On his way to set sail with the captain, he passed over the Bridge at San Luis Rey, just at the moment it broke. He was the fifth ant that Juniper saw tossed in the air.

Notes

Like Pepita, Esteban and Manuel were orphans brought up in the convent. Because they had one another, however, they were not lonely and miserable like Pepita. Instead, they were so close that they knew each other's feelings without speaking. When they left the convent as young adults, they lived and worked together; however, their relationship became strained when Manuel fell in love with Camila, although he tried to hide it from everyone, including his twin. After Esteban realized his brother's feelings, Manuel denied his love and cut off his work relationship with Camila. Soon afterwards, Manuel was injured. When his leg became infected, Esteban cared for him. In a state of delirium, Manuel blamed his twin for coming between him and Camila, causing Esteban great guilt. When Manuel died, Esteban was in total misery. The Abbess, worried about his well-being, suggested that Captain Alvarado hire him to work on his ship. When the captain offered a job to Esteban, he accepted. He was on his way to set sail when he crossed the bridge and perished.

Unlike the selfish Dona Clara and Camila, Esteban's life was filled with devotion, sacrifice, and suffering. Like Dona Maria when she lost her daughter to Spain, he felt no reason to go on living when he lost his twin to death; however, the Abbess' suggestion that he work on board a ship with Captain Alvarado gave Esteban a new lease on life. Unfortunately, like Dona Maria, he was killed before he was able to carry out his new plans.

In this chapter, more information is presented on the Abbess, Madre Maria del Pilar. When she took the twins into the Santa Maria de Las Rosas Convent, she personally cared for them. She would tempt them with goodies and teach them about God. She would also tell them Bible stories, hoping to stir in them an interest for the priesthood. Before long she found that she loved the boys; it was the first time she had felt anything but hatred for a male. Normally she judged them as ugly and without soul. But Manuel and Esteban disappointed the Abbess. They had no interest in becoming clerics and left the confining world of the convent as soon as they were old enough to make it on their own. She did not see either of them again until Esteban summoned her after Manuel's death.

Camila Perichole, who was introduced in the last chapter, is also further developed in this third chapter. Esteban and Manuel met her in the theatre, where they worked as copyists and she worked as an actress. Camila, who tended to be flirtatious, was amused by the similarity in looks of the twins and often mistook one for the other. Although she had no real affection for either of them, Manuel fell in love with her, even though she never realized it. She simply used him to write her letters for her.

Up to this point, all the key characters in the novel have one thing in common; they have been denied love in one way or the other. In the last chapter, Dona Maria grew up without love, for her wealthy parents gave her no affection or understanding. In a similar way, her husband does not love or understand her. When she has a daughter, she idolizes her, but Clara totally rejects her mother. Like Dona Maria, Pepita, an orphan, is also desperate for love, but even Dona Maria, who takes her in, fails to give it to her. In this chapter, Esteban and Manuel are denied the love of their parents who abandon them at birth. Then Manuel is denied Camila's love, and Esteban feels that Manuel does not love him when he curses him during his illness. Even the Abbess has her love denied when the twins leave the convent, abandoning her, and Captain Alvarado longs for the love of his daughter, whom he had lost some years before.

Manuel, Dona Maria, and Pepita are further united by the fact that they all know the Abbess, who has influenced their lives. They also die at the same time, crossing the Bridge of San Luis Rey. Ironically, all three of them are crossing the bridge to begin a new and more meaningful life than the one they have been living. Fate, however, deprives them of the opportunity.