CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Esteban

Esteban, one of the protagonists of the novel, is an identical twin; he and his brother, Manuel, were abandoned by their parents at birth. They are brought up by the Abbess and the sisters in the strict confines of the Convent of Santa Maria de Las Rosas. As a result, the childhood of these lovable and lively boys is demanding and regimented. Even though the Abbess genuinely cares about the children, she shows little warmth or affection. Instead, she is concerned about teaching them Bible stories and preparing them for the priesthood. The twins, however, have no interest in pursing a clerical life. They leave the convent as soon as they are old enough, supporting themselves with a variety of jobs. Finally they become copyists transcribing comedies for the theatre, ballads for the crowds, and advertisements for the merchants. Above all they were the copyists of the choirmasters. They also have the opportunity to work with the famous actress, Camila Perichole.

Esteban and Manuel are very close, even able to understand each other's feelings without speaking. Reserved by nature, they hardly speak in public because they are conscious of their identical looks and aware of people focusing attention on them. In childhood, they had even invented a secret language to communicate to each other, which they still use in moments of stress. Camila, however, interferes with their closeness. When Manuel sees her on the stage, he falls in love with her, even though he tries to hide it from everyone, including Esteban. Still he spends every moment with her that he can, even writing out letters to her lovers. When Esteban realizes that his brother is in love, he suggests that he confess his feelings to Camila. Manuel denies his love and stops seeing the actress. He then begins to withdraw from Esteban, still longing for Camila.

Manuel has an accident and injures his knee. Since neither brother had been ill for as much as a day in his life, Manuel is distressed to see his leg swelling with infection. As the pain increases, Esteban constantly stays by his side, nursing his twin. Falling into a delirium, Manuel curses his brother for coming between himself and Camila. Esteban tries to ignore the curses and continues to serve his twin. Even though Manuel later apologizes for his delirious outbursts, Esteban takes the curses to heart and feels guilty for causing his twin misery. When Manuel dies after several days of suffering physical torture, Esteban is totally distraught. The Abbess cannot even get him to help with the last rites before burial.

Separated from his brother for the first time ever and nursing deep feelings of guilt, Esteban is totally miserable. He aimlessly roams around the streets of Lima, even contemplating suicide to end his tortured existence. The Abbess, who has raised him, is very concerned about losing him as well as Manuel. She approaches Captain Alvarado and begs him to hire Esteban to work on his ship. Captain Alvarado approaches the young man and convinces him to set sail on the next journey. On his way to the ship, he crosses the Bridge at San Luis Rey, just as the moment that it breaks. He tumbles to his death with the other four victims.

Camila Perichole

Although not one of the protagonists, Camila, the actress, is a very important personality in the novel who touches most of the other main characters and who appears more regularly than any of the others. The Marquesa admires her talent; Uncle Pio is devoted to her; the Viceroy lusts after her; the Archbishop is infatuated by her personality; Don Jamie loves her dearly; and the Abbess looks forward to meeting her.

Camila is gradually developed in the novel; each chapter unfolds a little more of her personality. Although her growth is traced from the time she is an uncouth teenager until she is a lonely, disfigured middle-aged woman, her story is not chronological. When Uncle Pio discovers her singing in a small café, she is crude in both behavior and appearance. Recognizing her underlying talent, he takes her home to become her guardian and teacher. He coaches her in her acting skills until she is a beautiful, refined, and successful lady of the stage. At first, she is indebted to Uncle Pio for all he has done for her, but she soon rejects his possessive, overbearing ways, especially after she becomes the mistress of the Viceroy.

Camila enthralls her audiences with her polished acting skills and captivates the hearts of many of her fans, who generously praise her talents. As a result, she grows arrogant about her success and insensitive to others. She ridicules the Marquesa from stage, not caring about her feelings. She uses Manuel, oblivious to the fact that he loves her deeply. She abandons Uncle Pio after all he has done for her. She is even unfaithful to the adoring Viceroy, flirting with young adventurous men. For a time, she even ignores her own sons.

After she bears three sons, fathered by Don Andres, Camila decides to leave the stage and live the life of a refined lady of luxury, supported by the Viceroy. Entertained in aristocratic circles, she totally ignores her original benefactor, Uncle Pio; she does not even allow him to visit her. Pride, however, has its fall. Almost as a punishment for her rude, arrogant ways, the beautiful Camila is stricken with small pox, which disfigures her. Ashamed of her new appearance and abandoned by the Viceroy, she becomes a poor, miserable loner, struggling to raise her children. She refuses to see any visitors, including Uncle Pio, who still loves and wants to help her.

Uncle Pio, desperate to forge a link between himself and Camila, tricks the disfigured actress. He dresses as a distressed woman and insists that Camila see her. When she appears, Uncle Pio insists that he be allowed to raise her sickly son, Don Jamie. When Camila protests and refuses, Pio threatens her, saying he will make her pay back all he has spent on her. As a result, she begrudgingly relents and releases Jamie into Pio's care.

She is miserable about the separation and devastated to learn that both the boy and Pio have been killed in the accident on the Bridge at San Luis Rey. She attempts to travel to Lima to attend the funeral service of her son, but she is so overcome with emotion on the way that she must stop. She goes into a small church and offers her prayers for Jamie.

A year later after the accident, Camila goes to the convent to meet the Abbess and share her grief with her. Madre Maria del Pilar tries to solace her; she also shows her around the convent. When Camila sees the poor unfortunate souls who are kept there, she decides to work for them. As a result, Wilder shows that at the end of the novel Camila has become a less arrogant and more pleasing woman.