Dona Perfecta

by Benito Pérez Galdós

  CHAPTER XXVI

  MARIA REMEDIOS

  There is nothing more entertaining than to search for the cause ofsome interesting event which surprises or agitates us, and nothing moresatisfactory than to discover it. When, seeing violent passions in openor concealed conflict, and led by the natural intuitive impulse whichalways accompanies human observation we succeed in discovering thehidden source from which that turbulent river had derived its waters,we experience a sensation very similar to the delight of the explorer orthe discoverer of an unknown land.

  This delight Providence has now bestowed upon us; for, exploringthe hidden recesses of the hearts which beat in this story, we havediscovered an event that is assuredly the source of the most importantevents that we have narrated; a passion which is the first drop of waterof the impetuous current whose course we are observing.

  Let us go on with our story, then. To do so, let us leave Senora dePolentinos, without concerning ourselves in regard to what may havehappened to her on the morning of her conversation with Maria Remedios.Returning to her house, full of anxiety, she found herself obliged toendure the apologies and the civilities of Senor Pinzon, who assuredher that while he lived her house should not be searched. Dona Perfectaresponded haughtily, without deigning to look at him, for which reasonhe asked her politely for an explanation of her coldness, to whichshe replied requesting Senor Pinzon to leave her house, deferring to afuture occasion the explanation which she would require from him of hisperfidious conduct while in it. Don Cayetano arriving at this moment,words were exchanged between the two gentlemen, as between man and man;but as we are more interested at present in another matter, we willleave the Polentinos and the lieutenant-colonel to settle mattersbetween them as best they can, and proceed to examine the question ofthe sources above mentioned.

  Let us fix our attention on Maria Remedios, an estimable woman, to whomit is indispensably necessary to devote a few words. She was a lady, areal lady--for, notwithstanding her humble origin, the virtues of heruncle, Senor Don Inocencio, also of low origin, but elevated by hislearning and his estimable qualities, had shed extraordinary lustre overthe whole family.

  The love of Remedios for Jacinto was one of the strongest passions ofwhich the maternal heart is capable. She loved him with delirium; herson's welfare was her first earthly consideration; she regarded him asthe most perfect type of beauty and talent ever created by God, and tosee him happy and great and powerful she would have given her whole lifeand even a part of the life to come. The maternal sentiment is theonly one which, because of its nobility and its sanctity, will admitof exaggeration; the only one which the delirium of passion does notdebase. Nevertheless it is a singular phenomenon, frequently observed,that this exaltation of maternal affection, if not accompanied withabsolute purity of heart and with perfect uprightness is apt to becomeperverted and transformed into a lamentable frenzy, which may lead, likeany other ungoverned passion, to great errors and catastrophies.

  In Orbajosa Maria Remedios passed for a model of virtue and a modelniece--perhaps she was so in reality. She served with affection all whoneeded her services; she never gave occasion for gossip or for scandal;she never mixed herself up in intrigues. She carried her religion to theextreme of an offensive fanaticism; she practised charity; she managedher uncle's house with the utmost ability; she was well received,admired and kindly treated everywhere, in spite of the almostintolerable annoyance produced by her persistent habit of sighing andspeaking always in a complaining voice.

  But in Dona Perfecta's house this excellent lady suffered a species of_capitis diminutio_. In times far distant and very bitter for the familyof the good Penitentiary, Maria Remedios (since it is the truth, whyshould it not be told?) had been a laundress in the house of Polentinos.And let it not be supposed that Dona Perfecta looked down upon heron this account--nothing of the kind. She behaved to her without anyhaughtiness; she felt a real sisterly affection for her; they atetogether; they prayed together; they confided their troubles to eachother; they aided each other in their charities and in their devotionsas well as in domestic matters; but, truth to say, there was always asomething, there was always a line, invisible but which could not becrossed between the improvised lady and the lady by birth and ancestry.Dona Perfecta addressed Maria as "thou," while the latter could neverlay aside certain ceremonial forms. Maria Remedios always felt herselfso insignificant in the presence of her uncle's friend that her naturalhumility had acquired through this feeling a strange tinge of sadness.She saw that the good canon was a species of perpetual Aulic councillorin the house; she saw her idolized Jacintillo mingling on terms ofalmost lover-like familiarity with the young lady, and nevertheless thepoor mother and niece visited the house as little as possible. It is tobe observed that Maria Remedios' dignity as a lady suffered not a littlein Dona Perfecta's house, and this was disagreeable to her; for in thissighing spirit, too, there was, as there is in every living thing, alittle pride. To see her son married to Rosarito, to see him rich andpowerful; to see him related to Dona Perfecta, to the senora--ah! thiswas for Maria Remedios earth and heaven, this life and the next, thepresent and the future, the supreme totality of existence. For yearsher mind and her heart had been filled by the light of this sweet hope.Because of this hope she was good and she was bad; because of it shewas religious and humble, or fierce and daring; because of it she waswhatever she was--for without this idea Maria, who was the incarnationof her project, would not exist.

  In person, Maria Remedios could not be more insignificant than she was.She was remarkable for a surprising freshness and robustness which madeher look much younger than she really was, and she always dressed inmourning, although her widowhood was now of long standing.

  Five days had passed since the entrance of Caballuco into thePenitentiary's house. It was evening. Remedios entered her uncle's roomwith the lighted lamp, which she placed on the table. She then seatedherself in front of the old man, who, for a great part of the afternoon,had been sitting motionless and thoughtful in his easy chair. Hisfingers supported his chin, wrinkling up the brown skin, unshaven forthe past three days.

  "Did Caballuco say he would come here to supper to-night?" he asked hisniece.

  "Yes, senor, he will come. It is in a respectable house like this thatthe poor fellow is most secure."

  "Well, I am not altogether easy in my mind, in spite of therespectability of the house," answered the Penitentiary. "How the braveRamos exposes himself! And I am told that in Villahorrenda and thesurrounding country there are a great many men. I don't know how manymen----What have you heard?"

  "That the soldiers are committing atrocities."

  "It is a miracle that those Hottentots have not searched the house! Ideclare that if I see one of the red-trousered gentry enter the house, Ishall fall down speechless."

  "This is a nice condition of things!" said Remedios, exhaling half hersoul in a sigh. "I cannot get out of my head the idea of the tribulationin which Senora Dona Perfecta finds herself. Uncle, you ought to gothere."

  "Go there to-night? The military are parading the streets! Imagine thatsome insolent soldier should take it into his head to----The senora iswell protected. The other day they searched the house and they carriedoff the six armed men she had there; but afterward they sent them backto her. We have no one to protect us in case of an attack."

  "I sent Jacinto to the senora's, to keep her company for a while. IfCaballuco comes, we will tell him to stop in there, too. No one canput it out of my head but that those rascals are plotting some piece ofvillany against our friend. Poor senora, poor Rosarito! When one thinksthat this might have been avoided by what I proposed to Dona Perfectatwo days ago----"

  "My dear niece," said the Penitentiary phlegmatically, "we have done allthat it was in human power to do to carry out our virtuous purpose.More we cannot do. Convince yourself of this, and do not be obstinate.Rosarito cannot be the wife of our idolized Jacintillo. Your goldendream, your ideal of happiness, that at one time seemed attainab
le,and to which like a good uncle, I devoted all the powers of myunderstanding, has become chimerical, has vanished into smoke. Seriousobstructions, the wickedness of a man, the indubitable love of the girl,and other things, regarding which I am silent, have altered altogetherthe condition of affairs. We were in a fair way to conquer, and suddenlywe are conquered. Ah, niece! convince yourself of one thing. As mattersare now, Jacinto deserves something a great deal better than that crazygirl."

  "Caprices and obstinate notions!" responded Maria, with an ill-humorthat was far from respectful. "That's a pretty thing to say now, uncle!The great minds are outshining themselves, now. Dona Perfecta with herlofty ideas, and you with your doubts and fears--of much use eitherof you is. It is a pity that God made me such a fool and gave me anunderstanding of brick and mortar, as the senora says, for if thatwasn't the case I would soon settle the question."

  "You?"

  "If she and you had allowed me, it would be settled already."

  "By the beating?"

  "There's no occasion for you to be frightened or to open your eyes likethat. There is no question of killing any body. What an idea!"

  "Beating," said the canon, smiling, "is like scratching--when one beginsone doesn't know when to leave off."

  "Bah! say too that I am cruel and blood-thirsty. I wouldn't have thecourage to kill a fly; it's not very likely that I should desire thedeath of a man."

  "In fine, child, no matter what objections you may make, Senor Don PepeRey will carry off the girl. It is not possible now to prevent it. Heis ready to employ every means, including dishonor. If Rosarito--howshe deceived us with that demure little face and those heavenly eyes,eh!--if Rosarito, I say, did not herself wish it, then all might bearranged, but alas! she loves him as the sinner loves Satan; she isconsumed with a criminal passion; she has fallen, niece, into the snaresof the Evil One. Let us be virtuous and upright; let us turn our eyesaway from the ignoble pair, and think no more about either of them."

  "You know nothing about women, uncle," said Remedios, with flatteringhypocrisy; "you are a holy man; you do not understand that Rosario'sfeeling is only a passing caprice, one of those caprices that are curedby a sound whipping."

  "Niece," said Don Inocencio gravely and sententiously, "when seriousthings have taken place, caprices are not called caprices, but byanother name."

  "Uncle, you don't know what you are talking about," responded MariaRemedios, her face flushing suddenly. "What! would you be capable ofsupposing that Rosarito--what an atrocity! I will defend her; yes, Iwill defend her. She is as pure as an angel. Why, uncle, those thingsbring a blush to my cheek, and make me indignant with you."

  As she spoke the good priest's face was darkened by a cloud of sadnessthat made him look ten years older.

  "My dear Remedios," he said, "we have done all that is humanly possible,and all that in conscience we can or ought to do. Nothing could be morenatural than our desire to see Jacintillo connected with that greatfamily, the first in Orbajosa; nothing more natural than our desireto see him master of the seven houses in the town, the meadow ofMundogrande, the three gardens of the upper farm, La Encomienda, and theother lands and houses which that girl owns. Your son has great merit,every one knows it well. Rosarito liked him, and he liked Rosarito.The matter seemed settled. Dona Perfecta herself, without being veryenthusiastic, doubtless on account of our origin, seemed favorablydisposed toward it, because of her great esteem and veneration forme, as her confessor and friend. But suddenly this unlucky young manpresents himself. The senora tells me that she has given her word toher brother, and that she cannot reject the proposal made by him. Adifficult situation! But what do I do in view of all this? Ah, you don'tknow every thing! I will be frank with you. If I had found Senor deRey to be a man of good principles, calculated to make Rosario happy, Iwould not have interfered in the matter; but the young man appeared tome to be a wretch, and, as the spiritual director of the house, it wasmy duty to take a hand in the business, and I took it. You know alreadythat I determined to unmask him. I exposed his vices; I made manifesthis atheism; I laid bare to the view of all the rottenness of thatmaterialistic heart, and the senora was convinced that in giving herdaughter to him, she would be delivering her up to vice. Ah, whatanxieties I endured! The senora vacillated; I strengthened her waveringmind; I advised her concerning the means she might lawfully employ tosend her nephew away without scandal. I suggested ingenious ideas toher; and as she often spoke to me of the scruples that troubled hertender conscience, I tranquillized her, pointing out to her how farit was allowable for us to go in our fight against that lawless enemy.Never did I counsel violent or sanguinary measures or base outrages, butalways subtle artifices, in which there was no sin. My mind is tranquil,my dear niece. But you know that I struggled hard, that I worked like anegro. Ah! when I used to come home every night and say, 'Mariquilla, weare getting on well, we are getting on very well,' you used to be wildwith delight, and you would kiss my hands again and again, and say I wasthe best man on earth. Why do you fly into a passion now, disfiguringyour noble character and peaceable disposition? Why do you scold me? Whydo you say that you are indignant, and tell me in plain terms that I amnothing better than an idiot?"

  "Because," said the woman, without any diminution of her rage, "becauseyou have grown faint-hearted all of a sudden."

  "The thing is that every thing is going against us, woman. Thatconfounded engineer, protected as he is by the army, is resolved to dareevery thing. The girl loves him, the girl--I will say no more. It cannotbe; I tell you that it cannot be."

  "The army! But do you believe, like Dona Perfecta, that there isgoing to be a war, and that to drive Don Pepe from the town it will benecessary for one half of the nation to rise up against the otherhalf? The senora has lost her senses, and you are in a fair way to loseyours."

  "I believe as she does. In view of the intimate connection of Rey withthe soldiers the personal question assumes larger proportions. But, ah,niece! if two days ago I entertained the hope that our valiant townsmenwould kick the soldiers out of the town, since I have seen the turnthings have taken, since I have seen that most of them have beensurprised before fighting, and that Caballuco is in hiding and thatthe insurrection is going to the devil, I have lost confidence in everything. The good doctrines have not yet acquired sufficient materialforce to tear in pieces the ministers and the emissaries of error. Ah,niece! resignation, resignation!"

  And Don Inocencio, employing the method of expression whichcharacterized his niece, heaved two or three profound sighs. Maria,contrary to what might have been expected, maintained absolute silence.She showed now neither anger nor the superficial sentimentality of herordinary life; but only a profound and humble grief. Shortly after thegood canon had ended his peroration two tears rolled down his niece'srosy cheeks; before long were heard a few half-suppressed sighs, andgradually, as the swell and tumult of a sea that is beginning to bestormy rise higher and higher and become louder and louder, so the surgeof Maria Remedios' grief rose and swelled, until it at last broke forthin a flood of tears.