PART FOUR: Uncle Pio and Don Jamie

Summary

This fourth section of the novel is dedicated to a detailed description of Uncle Pio, the man responsible for making Camila into a great stage actress. Dona Maria has earlier introduced him in one of the letters written to her daughter. She had questioned whether Pio was more father, teacher, or lover to Camila. Ironically, she compared him to an ant, saying he was stealthy and sticky by nature. Later Uncle Pio became one of the ants that Juniper spies falling off the bridge.

Uncle Pio was a charming old man. He knew how to flatter people to earn their approval. He was also a wise and intelligent man who was very interested in the arts. He had worked in the theater for a number of years; therefore, when he saw Camila singing in a café, he recognized her talent. He took her in, serving as her guardian and teacher. Before long, he molded her into a successful actress, helping her to play her parts effortlessly.

Uncle Pio did not have an easy life. Born as an illegitimate son of a Castillian lord, he was never treated correctly as a child. At the age of ten, he ran away to Madrid and learned to make a living for himself. He worked in many different jobs, dabbling in real estate, working in a circus, and selling antiques. Because of his wit, intelligence, keen memory, friendly nature, and unscrupulous ways, he met with success and moved with influential men, including the Viceroy, Don Andres. Pio also earned the favor of the government, who employed him to spy and start trouble whenever and wherever it was necessary.

Pio's restless nature did not allow him to continue in any job for long. By the age of twenty, he had tried various vocations, but none satisfied him. What he really enjoyed were the arts; he had studied many plays and even written some verse for the stage. As a result, he finally decided to work in the theater, feeling it would give him adequate freedom and a sense of satisfaction and importance. Spying Camila in a café, Pio felt she offered him a golden opportunity. He recognized her beauty and talent immediately and believed he could mold her into greatness on the stage.

Pio became Camila's coach and teacher. He composed songs for her to sing, taught her proper dialogue and intonation, and gave her advice on acting. Camila, self-confident by nature, was a good student and quickly learned what Pio had to offer. Before long she became a beautiful, refined, and successful actress. She traveled with Uncle Pio to perform in many different places; wherever she appeared on the stage, she was praised for her abilities. The people of Lima also became her great admirers, including the Archbishop and Captain Alvarado. Camila was indebted to Uncle Pio for her success and was never afraid to express her gratitude to him.

Even when she excelled on the stage, Uncle Pio never openly praised Camila; he did not want her to become overly confident or lax. He was always a demanding teacher, making Camila perfect her performances. He delighted when she was called to play against another actress, for the competitive Camila always improved on her role until she was better than her competition. As Uncle Pio worked with Camila, now a charming and beautiful actress, he realized that he had fallen in love with her. He expected her to return his affections, but she saw him only in a platonic way. Instead of falling in love with Pio, she was charmed by the Viceroy of Lima, who made Camila his mistress. As a result, she started to distance herself from Pio.

Camila gave birth to three children, fathered by the Viceroy. As a mother, she lost interest in acting and withdrew from the stage. Soon, she grew bored with the Viceroy and the children, turning her attention to younger and more adventurous men. Tiring of the wild life, she decided to return to the Viceroy and to become a respectable lady. Pretending to be educated and virtuous, she began to attend church and to indulge in fashionable, proper pastimes. At the age of thirty, Camila had become a respectable and sophisticated lady, living in a beautiful villa on a hillock outside town.

Despite her behavior, Uncle Pio still loved Camila and suffered silently over her loss. Once she had settled down in the villa, he decided to visit her. He called on her frequently and even made advances. Camila, who always welcomed his visits, spurned his advances. Soon afterwards, Camila was struck with small pox, which disfigured her face. Having always been proud of her beauty, she now refused to welcome visitors, including her benefactors and Uncle Pio. Before long, she became poor. Uncle Pio, however, still wanted to help her. When he paid Camila a surprise visit, she threw him out. Pio still did not lose hope. Several days later, he disguised himself as a distressed woman and called on her again. Changing his voice to sound like a female, he asked to see her. When she appeared and found Pio, he demanded her to hand over her sickly son, Don Jamie, so that the child could be brought up like a gentleman. At first, Camila refused, but Uncle Pio persisted, even threatening her. Finally she felt forced to give in. She gave the child a gold coin and sent him away with Pio. As they crossed the bridge back to Lima, it broke and they were both killed, the fourth and fifth ants that Juniper spied falling off the bridge.