Kiss
of the Spider Woman: Chapter Notes - Chapter 12
Summary:
·
The chapter begins with the
two of them waking up in there cell, and discussing their sleep and how they
feel.
·
Molina then thinks that Valentin regrets their sexual intercourse the night before
but Valentin assures him he’s not.
·
Molina then confesses that he
feels so happy and has not felt this happy since his childhood.
·
Valentin then asks Molina what his favourite toy was
and finds out it was a ‘Dolly’, and bursts out laughing as he was comparing
himself to the toy.
·
Molina then tell him another
film about a Women who’s trapped in a relationship
she’s not happy in and falls in love with a reporter, who looses his job over
her, and ends up with nothing, as she doesn’t leave her husband for him as she
is too scared.
·
The chapter ends with Valentin getting aggravated as he doesn’t want Molina to
“brood about things”
Themes
and Motifs:
Power and Control
·
Though from previous chapters
we have found out that Molina is actually the one in control (as he is working
for the warden to extract information from Valentin),
In this chapter it feels as if Valentin
is back in control. An example of this is when they just wake up and Molina
actually wants to drink tea but as Valentin wants
coffee Molina goes with having coffee also. Also as Molina is the homosexual
there, Molina is worried that Valentin regrets having
sex with him therefore again showing a power shift towards Molina.
·
Also Valentin
begin’s to give orders to Molina e.g. “You know what?
Think up a good…and when I’m all finished studying you can start telling it to
me while the meal is cooking.”
·
In the film Molina recites,
the man is again in control over the women in their marriage, and she is too
afraid to stand up to him even though he’s “reduced her to a virtual prisoner
in her own house”.
·
However with the women and
her relationship with the reporter, the women is in control as she has the
choice weather to go off with the reporter or not.
Gender Roles
·
The Gender roles of Molina
playing the feminine figure comes into play again as he is making the morning
coffee for the two of them: “What’ll you have with breakfast? Tea or coffee?”
·
Valentin continues to have the masculine role as he is ready to begin getting
back into the routine of studying that morning, Just as the male does in a
marriage, works hard in order to support the family.
·
Even though Valentin who is a heterosexual,
has homosexual sex, you can still tell he is a heterosexual as he is interested
in women: “What about the neckline. Don’t skip around.” He is also interested
in the women’s cleavage, “Well how much is there then? A lot or a little?”
Relationship
·
Due to the sexual intercourse
that occurred between Molina and Valentin the night
before, you now feel as if they have a much closer relationship.
·
Also Valentin
seems much more caring towards Molina now as at the end of the chapter he gets
very emotional towards Molina saying things like “The only thing I want is to
keep my promise to you”, “And I’m going to keep my word, damn it....”
Filling in Gaps
·
This theme runs throughout
the book. In this chapter there are many pauses and silences between the
conversations shown through ellipses, in which the author wants you to fill in
what the characters may be thinking at the time.
Characters:
Molina
Molina
is extremely happy in this chapter as he hasn’t ‘felt so happy since when [he]
was a kid and he doesn’t “want anything to spoil this sensation”. This makes
you wonder weather Molina is this happy because him
and Valentin are much closer now because they had sex
as Molina has feelings towards Valentin. Or he could
be this happy because now him and Valentin
are closer, he will be able to extract more information out of Valentin.
You
learn that Molina may have known about his sexuality since he was younger as
his favourite toy was “A Dolly”.
In
this chapter there is no sign of Molina’s secret with the warden as he does not
interrogate Valentin at all, either because he has
forgotten about it, or he is just too happy to betray Valentin
at this moment in time, and does not feel the need to get out of prison faster.
Molina also begins to see that Valentin actually
cares about him as he has to question Valentin by
saying “Honestly?” just to make sure he’s not lying.
Valentin
In
this chapter Valentin is a lot more caring towards
Molina, as he is actually bothered about how Molina is, “Molina… How did you
wake up, okay?”, and asks a lot more questions to Molina just about how he is
feeling and how to help make him feel better. Also as Molina recites his film
this chapter, Molina rarely interrupts compared to his ways in Molina’s
previous films. He only interrupts twice, and the third time he speaks during
the film is where Molina questioned him.
At
the end of this chapter you see a different side to Valentin
as in his last speech you see a tremendously caring side of Valentin
towards Molina that you have not seen before. This could mean that he has
either developed feelings towards Molina, or he is just a lot more caring
towards his cell mate and friend now.
Imagery
and Setting:
·
We do not get much info about
the imagery and setting in the cell although the atmosphere in the cell seems
livelier and less tense as Molina is not secretly interrogating Valentin at all in this chapter, and Molina is extremely
happy and Valentin was also having fits of laughter
which show his happiness.
·
The Setting and imagery in
the story told also seems very lively as its in a
tropical area and the “famous Mardi Gras of Veracruz” is “drawing to a close”.
This matches the atmosphere in the cell.
·
The “recessed lighting
fixtures” in the women in the stories house is described as being “a kind of
diffused light so you can’t tell where it’s coming from”. This foreshadows
Molina’s character as you are unsure about the reason why he is being so nice
to Molina, therefore you cant tell where he’s coming
from.
Narrative
Style/ Structure:
The
Narrative style and structure in this chapter is very easy to follow on with as
it begins simply with a conversation between Valentin
and Molina, and from there Molina takes over re-telling a film he likes. There
are no footnotes or character thoughts throughout this chapter.
Most
of the dialogue between the two protagonists is each asking questions to one
another, which help us gain an insight into each of the characters thoughts as Puig’s narrative style is not to simply let us into the
characters minds, but to let us figure their thoughts out ourselves.
The
structure is also that the film Molina recites relates to
·
The story that Molina tells Valentin has a parallel link to Valentin’s
love life. This could be as Valentin is sort of tied
between the two girls he loves, and so he takes the position of the singer,
trying to choose between them.
·
Another tie could be that
Molina is the singer, and has to choose between helping the warden, which would
be like staying with her mafia boss husband or being loyal to his friend Valentin, which would include risks, or vice versa,
depending how you perceive it.
·
The most comparable tie to
the film would be where Valentin is the reporter and
the Warden is the mafia boss, who has the power over Molina (the singer) and
locks him up, and is about to prevent the two of them from being together.
Relation
of part to the Whole:
This
chapter as a relation to the whole story fits in very well, as the film recited
by Molina has close links with what’s going on in the characters personal lives
back in the cell. The film is again about a doomed relationship, like nearly
all of the other films that Molina has re-tolled. We learn more about the
characters and their relationship in this chapter which also seems to be an on
going pattern in the story. We will now be awaiting Molina’s decision on
weather he is going to betray Valentin and help the
warden or not.