Of Love And Other Demons

On the day of the solar eclipse, Father Delaura sits on the terrace with the Bishop. Both men are tranquil and drinking tamarind water. The nun in the Bishop's service brings the men a few pieces of smoked glass so they can view the eclipse without damaging their eyes. In the darkness of the eclipse, the Bishop notices that Delaura holds his pieces of glass in his hand but doesn't bring them to his eyes. The Bishop asks what he's thinking about. Delaura doesn't reply but begins looking through the glass at the vanishing sun. The Bishop accuses him of thinking about Sierva again. Denying it, Delaura says he was thinking about how "the common people" (90) will blame the eclipse for their problems. The Bishop doesn't deny it but attributes the eclipse to God's will. Delaura continues to watch the sun, without the glass, and after the moon passes over the sun and the roosters begin to crow at the false dawn, finds the image of the sun's crescent stays on his retina. The Bishop claims it will go away in a few hours. 

Father Delaura tells the Bishop that he doesn't believe Sierva is possessed, only that she is terrified. The Bishop asks him what evidence he has and whether Delaura has read the convent's acta. He has but claims the acta more accurately portrays the Abbess' paranoia than Sierva's condition. For example, the Abbess had every area Sierva entered in the convent exorcised, punished the novice who took Sierva's ring with physical labor, and made everyone in contact with Sierva submit to "fasting and purification" (91). In addition, the acta notes that Sierva had butchered a goat and eaten its testicles in spices "hot as fire" (91), spoken African languages with the slaves, and sung to them in "voices other than her own" (91). Father Delaura attributes the latter events to Sierva's upbringing by black Africans, rather than white Spaniards. 

Delaura returns to the convent with a patch over his left eye, prescribed by the doctor until the sun spot recovers. This confuses Sierva, who, in a talkative though melancholy mood, tells Delaura that she watched the eclipse with Martina without any glass and can see perfectly well. She seems unaffected by the eclipse at all, explaining that its false twilight looks just like the twilight she sees every night. As Delaura begins to treat Sierva's wounds, she tells him, "with a tremulous voice" (92), that she's going to die. He asks who told her this, and Sierva replies that it was Martina. Sierva assures him that Martina is "good and gentle" (92), and that the Abbess has arranged for the two of them to do embroidery together on the terrace at twilight. Father Delaura asks whether Martina told Sierva when she is going to die. Martina told her it will happen after the eclipse. Delaura reminds her that that could be anytime in the "next hundred years" (93), but that reassurance doesn't stop him from getting choked up at the thought. Sierva says she's afraid and begins to cry. Father Delaura comforts her, and Sierva realizes that he's not her physician but her exorcist. She asks why, if that's the case, that he's healing her. He replies that it's because he loves her "very much" (93). Sierva doesn't respond.

After leaving Sierva's cell, Delaura stops at Martina's. Seeing her for the first time up close, he realizes she's an odd-looking woman, but still has a mysterious allure. He tells her, from the cell's doorway, not to add to Sierva's reasons to be frightened. Martina denies that she ever told Sierva when she would die and shares her knowledge of Sierva's habit for lying with Delaura. He realizes that he, too, has been lied to by the girl and asks for Martina's forgiveness. 

That week, the Abbess writes a "formal memorandum" (94) to the Bishop, asking for Sierva María to be removed from the convent. The Abbess considers having to keep the girl there a "belated punishment" (94) for the wars of years past. She lists the occurrences in the acta for which she faults Sierva, and condemns Delaura's "arrogance, his freethinking, his personal animosity toward her" (94), as well as his bringing in of outside food. The Bishop shows the memorandum to Father Delaura. The letter puts him into a rage. He tells the Bishop that if anyone's possessed by demons, it's the Abbess. He yells that she's "detestable" (94). The outburst surprises the Bishop, which makes Father Delaura try to temper his speech. 

The Bishop replies that his "investiture" (94) doesn't allow him to agree with Delaura, though he'd like to. He chastises Delaura for any "excess" (94) he may have committed at the convent and asks for the Father's patience in dealing with the Abbess. The Gospels of the Bible, the Bishop says, are populated with "women like her" (94) and yet, he says, "Jesus exalted them" (94). The Bishop remarks that the fact that people in Spain have already slept that night fills him "with terror" (95). Delaura reminds him that they can't "intervene in the rotation of the earth" (95). To this, the Bishop argues that it would be better to have less awareness of Earth's rotation so that it wouldn't upset anyone. 

At the end of the month, a new Spanish viceroy, Don Rodrigo de Buen Lozano, is set to visit Santa María de Antigua on his way to the governmental seat in Santa Fe de Bogotá. His entourage contains magistrates, functionaries, doctors, servants, and a string quartet, a gift from the Queen to break up the "tedium of the Indies" (95). Don Lozano's wife, the Vicereine, is distantly related to the Abbess, and has asked to stay at the convent. The Abbess takes this opportunity to start renovations on the convent. Sierva María is mostly forgotten about but takes the blame for a disaster in which some scaffolding collapses, killing one and injuring half a dozen workers. This prompts the Abbess to write to the Bishop again, urging him to remove Sierva from the convent, this time using the Vicereine's visit as a reason. The Bishop does not respond.

The curious Vicereine investigates every corner of the main building, but the Abbess doesn't want her to see the prison. She tells the Vicereine that it's not worth a visit, because there are only two prisoners and one is "possessed by a demon" (96). This piques the Vicereine's interest and she decides to visit the prison without notifying the prisoners ahead of time. When she gets to Martina's cell, the woman throws herself at the Vicereine's feet, begging to be pardoned. Martina had already attempted to escape twice, once with a group of three other nuns. They were all caught, but one, and the prison's windows were sealed. The next year, Martina and the two remaining prisoners tied up the warder and escaped through a service door. Martina returned home to her family, who, on their confessor's advice, returned her to Santa Clara. Until Sierva arrived, Martina was the only prisoner, banned from receiving visitors or attending Mass. The Vicereine promises to talk to her husband about Martina.

The Vicereine finds Sierva María in her cell, doing embroidery. She doesn't look up until the Vicereine greets her. In Sierva's eyes, the Vicereine sees the "irresistible force of a revelation" (97). As she moves to step into Sierva's cell, the Abbess grabs the Vicereine's arm and warns her to take care, as Sierva is "like a tiger" (97). Without stepping fully inside, the Vicereine decides that she will "save the girl" (97).

That night, the city's governor, "an effeminate bachelor" (98), holds a male-only luncheon in the Viceroy's honor. The Viceroy's string quartet plays, along with a bagpipe-and-drum group from San Jacinto, and black slaves in costume perform "bold parodies of white dances" (98). For the finale, the Abyssinian woman whom the governor purchased for her weight in gold steps out in a sheer tunic. She shows herself to the guests before stopping at the Viceroy and allowing her tunic to fall to the floor. Though a slave, the woman's body has never been branded or burned by her owner, as was the common practice. Her perfection and nakedness overwhelm the Viceroy, who turns pale and asks for her to be removed at once. He says that he never wants to see her again.

As an act of "retribution" (98) for the Governor's poor taste, the Vicereine brings Sierva María to the private dinner the Abbess holds for she and the Viceroy. Martina Laborde warns the Vicereine not to try to take off any of Sierva's necklaces or bracelets if they want her to behave. The Vicereine doesn't try, instead dressing Sierva in her grandmother's gown she'd worn on her first day at the convent and washing and combing her long hair. The Vicereine leads Sierva by the hand into the Abbess' dining room. Sierva's presence stuns even the Abbess. Whispering into the Viceroy's ear, the Vicereine tells him that the girl is possessed by a demon. The Viceroy doesn't believe it. In Burgos, he'd seen a possessed woman who couldn't stop defecating and filled her entire room to overflowing. Fearing this may happen to Sierva, he has her inspected by his personal doctors, who all agree that she has no signs of rabies. They also agree with Abrenuncio's initial diagnosis that Sierva isn't likely to contract rabies now. None of the doctors, however, feel confident saying whether or not she is possessed. 

During the festivities surrounding the Viceroy's arrival, the Bishop reviews both the Abbess' memorandum and Sierva María's "final disposition" (99). Father Delaura shuts himself in his library and prepares himself for Sierva's exorcism, but he's so distracted by his feelings for her that he can't concentrate. He writes "unrestrained verses" (99) that calm his desires. A century later, during the library's dismantlement, some of Delaura's poems get discovered. The only one that's completely legible details his life at age twelve. He's just arrived in Toledo by mule, wearing an old outfit of his father's. He carries with him a trunk, packed by his mother, that weighs twice as much as he does. The seminary's porter helps Delaura carry the trunk to the middle of the courtyard, then leaves him in the rain. The porter tells young Delaura to take it up to the third floor, where they'll show him his dormitory. As the porter leaves, the entire seminary comes out onto the balcony to see what Delaura will do with his trunk. Delaura opens the trunk and takes out as much as he can carry, then brings it up the "steep stairs of living rock" (100) to his dormitory. He puts his things on his bed, then goes back down to the courtyard. He completes this task four times before finally hauling up the empty trunk. None of the teachers or students who'd been watching him do this regard him on his way past, but on the final trip, the Father Rector waits for Delaura on the third-floor landing, applauding him. All the others follow suit. Delaura realizes this is the seminary's initiation test and that he's passed. His smarts, kindness, and "strong character" (100) are held up as an example for the other novices. 

Another memory from that night, though, makes "the greatest mark" (100) on Delaura. After unloading his things, the Rector calls Delaura into his office to discuss the only book he's brought with him. It's a volume with a torn binding and is missing its title page. Delaura found the book on his father's shelf, in that state. He read it on the long nights of his journey to Toledo but hasn't yet finished it. The Rector asks for Delaura's opinion of the book. Delaura replies that he will let the Rector know once he finishes reading it. The Rector, with a relieved smile, replies that Delaura will never finish reading it because it's a "forbidden book" (100). He then locks it away. Now, some twenty-four years later, having read every book he ever touched, Delaura regrets having never read this one. 

In the present, the Bishop interrupts Delaura's afternoon prayers to receive the Viceroy, who has dropped by on a whim. The Viceroy waits on the "flowering terrace" (101) while the drawing room gets prepared. The Bishop, along with Father Delaura and five other clerics, receive the Viceroy. When settled, he launches into "illusory" (101) plans about trade with the British Antilles, "official intervention in education" (101), and bringing the colonies into "harmony with the rest of the world" (101) through arts and literature. These plans confirm the Bishop's sense of secular power's superficiality. He tells the Viceroy that Father Delaura is the person in the city who "keeps abreast" (101) of the modern world's innovations. 

As the visit goes on, the Viceroy reveals his interest in Sierva María, not only for her own sake, but for the sake of the Abbess, whose stories moved him. The Bishop tells the Viceroy that they don't have "definitive proof" (102) of it, but it seems that Sierva is possessed by a demon. He also says that the Abbess knows this better than anyone. Countering him, the Viceroy says that the Abbess thinks the Bishop's been caught in a trap by the Devil. The Bishop says not only has he been caught, but the whole of Spain has as well. This offends the Viceroy, who believes the Bishop is speaking ill of the Spanish crown. The Bishop clarifies that he's simply trying to get the Viceroy to see the "strength of faith" (103) required to do his work. 

The Viceroy tells the Bishop that the Abbess believes other convents would be better suited to care for Sierva María. The Bishop assures him that they chose the Santa Clara Convent because of "the fortitude, the competence, and the authority of " (103) the Abbess. The Viceroy says he will tell her as much, but the Bishop claims the Abbess already knows. The problem, he says, is that she doesn't believe it. Just then, the Bishop feels an impending asthma attack, and decides to wrap up the visit. He tells the Viceroy that he'll deal with the Abbess' memorandum as soon as his health permits it. The Viceroy, who also suffers from asthma, offers his doctor's care to the Bishop, who kindly refuses. Father Delaura accompanies the Viceroy out of the palace, and as he leaves, he turns to Delaura, points at him, and says, "Do not allow me to forget you" (103). This confounds Delaura, so he simply bows in response.

Upon returning to the convent, the Viceroy tells the Abbess about his visit. He also refuses to pardon Martina Laborde, despite the Vicereine's pleas, explaining that doing so would set a bad precedent for those who've committed lesser crimes and been left to rot in their cells. At the palace, the Bishop, with Delaura's help, retires to his bedroom to ride out his asthma attack. As they walk together, he tells Delaura that they may have made a poor impression on the Viceroy. Father Delaura says it's the Viceroy's fault for knocking on the Bishop's door unannounced. However, the Bishop disagrees, saying that his front door is "the door of the Church" (104), and that the Viceroy acted like "an old-fashioned Christian" (104). In his room, the Bishop takes several kinds of medicine for his asthma, none of which work. He ends up having an "emergency bleeding" (105) and by the morning, he has "recovered his indomitability" (105). 

Father Delaura spends that night sleepless in his library again. After morning prayers, the Bishop summons Delaura to his bedroom, where he sits upright in bed, eating hot chocolate with bread and cheese. He tells Delaura that he's decided Sierva María should stay at the Santa Clara Convent, with Father Delaura continuing to handle her case. Sierva should be granted the same dignity and resources as the other sisters in the convent, and Father Delaura no longer need rely on the acta to make his decisions about Sierva's care. He blesses Father Delaura and dismisses him.

Rushing to the convent with excitement, Father Delaura finds Sierva sitting, dressed in a jeweled gown, for her portrait. He watches her from the shadows, unseen, until the portrait session finishes at noon. The painter puts final brushstrokes on the painting, which depicts Sierva seated as she was, surrounded by "a court of submissive demons" (106). The painter asks whether Sierva likes it. She replies that it's "just like a mirror" (106), including the demons.

Afterwards, Father Delaura walks Sierva María back to her cell, which has been cleaned and refurnished, "thanks to the persuasive talents of the Viceroy and Vicereine" (106). Now allowed to eat the food served in the cloister, Sierva offers Father Delaura some of her cake. As they sit together, she says to him casually that she's "seen snow" (106). Sierva says that she saw the snow in a dream, then describes Father Delaura's dream he had of Sierva sitting by the window, looking out at the snow, eating grapes. He asks her what happens at the end of the dream. She says she's afraid to tell him. Father Delaura says he doesn't need to hear anymore, closes his eyes, and prays for Sierva. When he opens his eyes, he is "a changed man" (107). He promises Sierva that soon she will be "free and happy through the grace of the Holy Spirit" (107).

The Marquis had not told Bernarda about taking Sierva María to the convent and until now, Bernarda hasn't noticed. One night, Bernarda thinks she sees Dulce Olivia sweeping the floors in the house. Convinced she's having a hallucination, Bernarda seeks out some "rational explanation" (107) by searching every room in the house. She realizes she hasn't seen Sierva María in a while. Caridad del Cobre, Sierva's former caretaker, tells Bernarda that the Marquis said he was taking Sierva away and they wouldn't see her ever again. Hearing this, Bernarda goes into the Marquis' bedroom without knocking. He's lying in his hammock, still burning cow dung to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Seeing Bernarda appear in her silk robe, the Marquis thinks he's having a hallucination. Bernarda asks him about Sierva and he replies that she's been gone for five days. This knocks the breath out of Bernarda and she collapses into a chair. She asks whether Abrenuncio killed her, and the Marquis crosses himself, saying "God forbid!" (108). He then tells Bernarda exactly what happened for Sierva to end up at the convent. He tells Bernarda that he hasn't told her sooner because he's acting in accordance with her wishes that he treat her as though she's dead. The Marquis says he knew this would cost him his life, but for the sake of saving Sierva's.

Bernarda responds by reflecting aloud that now their "shame is public knowledge" (108). At this the Marquis begins weeping, and using what little strength he has left, crawls out of his hammock, and rests his head in Bernarda's lap. Bernarda tolerates this. She says that though she hates Sierva, she's relieved to know she's alive. Bernarda spends the next two weeks locked in her bedroom with her fermented honey and cacao. When she finally emerges, she looks like "a walking corpse" (108). She packs her things, including her two urns of gold, and leaves the house alone, by mule. The Marquis knows she will not return.

With Bernarda gone, the Marquis begins again to fear that the slaves will attack him. He forbids them from entering the house at all. Because of this, when Father Delaura arrives later that day, he must let himself into the house. The Marquis' mastiffs bark at him, but he presses onward. Delaura finds the Marquis in his hammock in the orchard, his body "covered by orange blossoms" (109). In the sleeping Marquis, Delaura sees Sierva María "grown old, and broken by solitude" (109). When the Marquis awakens, he doesn't at first recognize Delaura because of his eye patch. Father Delaura asks the Marquis how he's doing, to which he replies that he's "rotting away" (109). 

The Marquis sits up in his hammock and Delaura apologizes for entering the house without an invitation. After a brief exchange of formalities, Delaura tells the Marquis he's come on behalf of the Bishop to tell Delaura about Sierva. Delaura says he's been assigned with care of Sierva's "spiritual health" (110). He explains to the Marquis that he's been tasked with exorcising the demon alleged to possess her, although Delaura himself doesn't believe that's true. Delaura says he's come to the Marquis to learn what Sierva was like before she came to the convent, so he can make an accurate assessment of her spiritual health. The Marquis confesses that he doesn’t know. He tells Delaura that he is "tormented by guilt" (110) over having left her to live in the slaves' courtyard. He uses this living arrangement to explain her long silences, violent outbursts, stealth, and "habit of lying for pleasure" (110). 

The Marquis brings Delaura into Sierva's bedroom. Looking around, Delaura distinguishes between Sierva's grandmother's things and Sierva's, which include dolls, music boxes, and ballerinas. He notices the still-packed suitcase the Marquis had prepared for Sierva on the day he took her to the convent. The Marquis points out the theorbo, explaining that it's an Italian instrument that's "fallen into disuse" (111), then he tunes and begins to play it, playing the song he had for Sierva. This reveals to Delaura what the Marquis couldn't say about Sierva. The Marquis sees how this revelation moves Delaura and tells him as much. Delaura says he "would give his soul" (111) to see her, but that he can't do it unless they can prove she's not possessed. 

The Marquis urges Delaura to go talk to Abrenuncio, who, from the beginning, has insisted that Sierva María is not possessed. Abrenuncio also insists that he is the only one who can explain how he knows this. Knowing Abrenuncio's bad reputation, Delaura is hesitant. The Marquis insists that Abrenuncio is "a good man" (111) and begs Delaura "for the love of God" (111) to go see him. The Marquis gives Delaura Sierva's suitcase and asks him to bring it to her, so that at least she'll know he hasn't forgotten her. Delaura takes the suitcase, tucks it under his cloak, and leaves without saying goodbye, running out into the pouring rain. On his way to Abrenuncio's, Delaura sings aloud the song the Marquis had played for him. 

Delaura reaches Abrenuncio's and knocks on the door. When Abrenuncio asks who it is, Father Delaura says it's "the law" (112) to avoid yelling out his own name. Abrenuncio doesn't recognize Delaura, who introduces himself as the "librarian for the diocese" (112). Welcoming him and helping him out of his rain-soaked cape, Abrenuncio asks Delaura, in Latin, what happened to his eye. Delaura answers him in perfect "classical Latin" (112), explaining that the eye continues to bother him, despite what the Bishop's doctor told him about the effectiveness of the eye patch. 

The doctor removes Delaura's wet clothes and shoes, giving him a cape to put over his muddy pants. Then he takes off Delaura's eye patch and throws it away. Delaura doesn't protest. He's become entranced by Abrenuncio's extensive collection of books. Among them Delaura finds many that would mean imprisonment in Spain. 

Unprompted, Delaura decides to ask Abrenuncio if he knows about the book the Father Rector confiscated from him when he was twelve. Delaura has done this with anyone who might help him identify the book since it was taken from him. Abrenuncio asks whether Delaura remembers the title. Delaura says he never knew it and would give anything to know how the book ends. Without a word, Abrenuncio pulls out a book and places it before Delaura. The priest recognizes it immediately, though it finally has a title: The Four Books of Amadís of Gaul. Delaura asks Abrenuncio if he knows this book is forbidden. He says that he does. He also says that if Delaura had come to arrest him for possession of forbidden or stolen books, Delaura would have come to see him much sooner. Abrenuncio also claims that he wouldn’t have opened his door. However, Abrenuncio says, he's glad Delaura has come to see him now.

Delaura says that the Marquis, concerned for Sierva María, has sent him. The doctor and the priest sit together, looking out at the storm raging over the ocean. Abrenuncio explains, at length, the history of rabies from "the beginning of the human race" (115), and how it has often been confused with demonic possession. He reiterates that since Sierva hasn't already contracted it, she likely won't. The more likely outcome for her condition, Abrenuncio explains, is that she will "die of the cruelty of the exorcism" (115). Though Delaura doubts this, he concedes that it confirms his "theological indications" (116) that Sierva is not suffering from demonic possession. Delaura says that he's asked for support from his religious order but has received none. He tells Abrenuncio that if they go through with this, it will be their word against everyone else's. Abrenuncio replies that this is why he's surprised Delaura came to see him, as an enemy of the Catholic Church. Delaura confesses that he's not sure why he came, unless God sent him Sierva as a test of his faith. 

As Delaura says this, Abrenuncio realizes the emotional burden the priest has been carrying. Abrenuncio tells Delaura not to torture himself "in vain" (116). He asks Delaura whether he came there because he "needed to talk" (116) about Sierva María. This embarrasses Delaura, who moves quickly to leave. Abrenuncio tries to get Delaura to stay, offering him an eye wash for his retina and then fetching Sierva's suitcase, which Delaura had left behind in his haste. Delaura thanks Abrenuncio for his help and promises to return when he has more time. 

Driven by desperation, Delaura heads straight to the convent. He stands outside the front gate, up to his ankles in rainwater. The gatekeeper almost doesn't let him in because it's nearly curfew, but Delaura pushes past, "by order of His Grace the Bishop" (117). He wakes Sierva María, who doesn’t recognize him in the dark. Unsure what reason to give for his late visit, Delaura tells Sierva that her father wants to see her, and hands her the suitcase. This upsets her. She replies that she doesn't want to see him because she'd "rather die" (117). Trying to cheer her up, Delaura moves to unfasten one of her leather straps. Sierva tells him not to touch her and spits in his face. Aroused by this action, Delaura turns his face, offering Sierva his other cheek. She continues to spit on him, her rage increasing with his "pleasure" (118) until she realizes that her rage is "useless" (118). Sierva begins to curse at Father Delaura "in idolatrous languages" (118), like "one truly possessed" (118). Father Delaura thrusts his crucifix into Sierva's face, shouting, "Get thee hence, infernal beast, whoever thou art" (118). The warder and Martina run to Sierva's cell, and eventually Martina calms Sierva. Delaura fleas.

Returning to the Bishop's palace, Delaura confines himself to his library, intending to read. Unable to concentrate, he prays fervently, sings the theorbo song, weeps, and removes Sierva's things from her suitcase. He smells them, loves them, and speaks to them "in obscene hexameters" (118) until, in a frenzy, he takes up "the iron scourge" (118) and begins to beat himself with it, attempting to drive his love for Sierva from his heart. The Bishop, concerned that Delaura hadn't come home to read to him at supper, finds Delaura on the floor of his library, "writing…in a mire of blood and tears" (118). Delaura tells the Bishop that it is the "most terrible" (118) demon of them all.