El Acoso, in addition to its many virtues as a novella, is a rare successful attempt meaningfully and consistently to represent in a literary work the complex structure, tone, and rhythm of a specific musical work (Beethoven's Eroica). (p. 103)

Both works of art represent radical creative departures for Beethoven and Carpentier. The Eroica is a symphony that revolutionized symphonic structure—the continuous and organic mode of connecting the second subject with the first, the introduction of episodes into the development, the extraordinary importance of the Coda, are all complete departures from previous musical tradition. In "El Acoso," also, we have an intensification of a highly technical structure, plot, and presentation of characters. Carpentier's deep knowledge of music seems to have led him to adapt many of Beethoven's musical techniques. He succeeds, as did Beethoven, in creating a work whose emotional impact is enhanced, rather than overwhelmed, by intricate technical complexity. If we were to choose a common characteristic in the structural and thematic elements of both works, we would have to say that both represent great examples of the mystery that is the dialectic of art: the wedding of simplicity and complexity.

Carpentier has succeeded in reproducing the symphony on at least three different structural levels that are ingeniously related through characters and style. On the first level, an orchestra is presenting the Eroica itself in a concert hall; this playing of the Eroica is the dramatic focus of the story. The two main characters, El Acosado and El Taquillero, listen to it and comment, and the music is described as it is performed. On the second level, the various themes of the symphony are psychological stimuli for the personal associations of El Acosado, who, as he listens to the concert, experiences flashbacks of episodes that occurred to him as he hid in the tower. (pp. 103-04)

Thus El Acosado feels nausea in the concert hall, not purely from fear, but because once when he was on the roof, he drank warm water that made him vomit and at that moment the Taquillero was playing that portion of the symphony. Carpentier has used a Pavlovian notion to help achieve a unique association, by way of music, space, and time.

On the third level we have the structure of the short novel itself, which is organized to correspond to the symphonic movements. Both action and characters seem to follow the motifs and themes of the music. We can see that even the rhythmic patterns of words follow important musical rhythms at appropriate points in the story. (p. 104)

Both works are portraits of heroism, the Eroica of Napoleon and "El Acoso" of El Acosado. The first movement of the Eroica is certainly a section of grandeur and the beginning is the high point…. [The] animating soul of the whole movement is ushered in by two great staccato chords of E flat from the full orchestra. (pp. 104-05)

Carpentier begins his story by equating the appearance of El Acosado with the heroic theme. Just as the symphony is dedicated to the heroism of Napoleon, the story centers around El Acosado as a modern hero on a smaller scale. Both have joined revolutionary movements that seek to change the structure of society, bring justice for all, and create a better world in which to live. In the same way that Napoleon's very efforts to achieve these ends brought his downfall, El Acosado suffers the same fate as his victims and is finally humbled by defeat. Technically, the author of the story uses two words to correspond to the initial E flat staccato chords, which begin the heroic theme: "One," and "Anywhere". To the triple variation of these chords corresponds the physical presentation of El Acosado and his two pursuers. The strings follow the first heroic motive with the second theme, that of El Taquillero. (p. 106)

As the orchestra plays the heroic theme, El Acosado parallels the same effect by his utterance of the Credo. Just as the orchestra leads us to seek new keys and new subjects, the story also introduces to us several characters. The most important of these is El Taquillero, who appears now in an isolated context. At this point in the story we learn more about his past experiences, his subjective emotions, etc. As the symphony moves through the three subjects that form the transition period and develops the first lyrical motive, El Taquillero, who has been listening, leaves the concert hall and goes to visit Estrella, the young prostitute who has just betrayed El Acosado. El Taquillero senses immediately that Estrella has changed, that she does not welcome him as usual. This corresponds to the sudden change from a tender theme to battle and conflict that occurs in the symphony. El Taquillero desperately attempts to distract Estrella from her concern over the visit from El Acosado's pursuers. The counterplay of chords corresponds to the dissonance in the thoughts of Estrella and El Acosado. (pp. 106-07)

The entire Coda, with the "development" section, represents the heroic dream of El Taquillero, who as a young man disappointed in love, hopes to become a great composer. The transition in the form of a fugue is illustrated by the stream of consciousness that takes place when he reexperiences female scorn and half realizes that even now his musical vocation can be overcome by passionate desire. El Taquillero's reverie is suddenly interrupted by Estrella's repetition of the word inquisition. This word, spoken four times, corresponds to the notes of the horn that occur at the end of the "development" section of the symphony. The horn symbolizes hunting, and Estrella's mention of Inquisition brings to mind her betrayal of El Acosado.

The funeral march that follows is one of the most perfect in form and variation. It is a huge movement, highly elaborated and extended. And yet each time one says, "Oh no, he cannot do that theme again," Beethoven comes up with the most inventive surprise and turns what might have been a repetitious moment into one of blinding glory…. Finally when we hear the march melody [in the Coda] instead of a simple restatement, we literally see it break into fragments like the speech of one so overcome by grief that he can speak only in halting, gasping efforts.

As we hear the funeral march, Carpentier introduces the humble attitude of La Vieja. He describes her laments as "weeping breath become words." During the repetitions and restatements of the symphony, El Acosado relives the experiences he had while living in the home of La Vieja, lacking food and water. (pp. 107-08)

Throughout this section, El Acosado tells us about his past and his early plans to study architecture when he arrived in Havana. All of his previous experiences are reproduced by the seeds of the musical development. During the fugue, we learn about the thoughts of El Acosado. Among other things, he remembers the poet Heredia and El Becario, who had recommended Estrella to El Acosado. As the fugue finishes and we are resting, El Acosado arrives at a crucial moment, the feeling that he knows the Truth. This mystical moment is represented in the symphony by the sforzando that we spoke of. As soon as the Coda begins, we see El Acosado again, this time suffering from hunger and thirst. Thinking of food as he listens to the concert, his associations lead to the past again. His conscience reproaches him for having eaten the food of La Vieja. The dramatic effects of the tutti parallel his frustration. With the death of the Vieja and the betrayal by Estrella, the Funeral March closes.

What follows now is a rather short and driving scherzo. Throughout we hear shocks and tremors as of a deep, subterranean disturbance. All is chained power and pent-up tension…. When the explosion [of relief] occurs, we are left with a deep, satisfying feeling. Throughout the Scherzo we are faced with a trio of three horns…. The entire scene illustrates a hunt.

There is an actual hunting scene in this section of the story. It is in this section that Carpentier develops the frantic efforts of El Acosado to evade the two men who relentlessly pursue him…. In this section of the novella, we witness the activities of the Acosado that led him to his present situation: his initiation into the revolutionary party, his betrayal and torture, his consequent condemnation as an informer. All of this and his remorse for having murdered the party enemy cause the mental anguish and guilt of El Acosado to reach an unbearable point, and the mental tension in the story is tremendous as El Acosado recalls his deed…. Just as in the symphony the tense mental introspection alternates with the lively chase…. The explosion and relief of the symphony parallel El Acosado's decision to talk to the police about his political activities, ending the excruciating torture to which they have subjected him. After he is released, "It was like the beginning of a convalescence, a return to the world of men."… (pp. 108-10)

The final movement of the Eroica presents a series of episodes in the form of fragments tied together by a central theme. In fact, it is a series of variations on simple themes. Perhaps the most notable feature of this section is its strong dynamic structure. (p. 110)

In the story a similar thematic structure parallels the symphony. A series of episodes of the past life of El Acosado are presented to us: his search for divine help, his attempt to seek refuge in a church…. El Acosado escapes from the church, and the sound of the nearby thunderstorm (presented in the orchestra by the brass section) brings him to a café. Here he finds the two men who were chasing him…. They rise to shoot him down, but El Acosado escapes and hides in the concert hall. There he expects to evade his tormentors, and listens to the symphony that he had heard for many days while hidden in the tower in the house of La Vieja…. [The] grandeur of the thunder shakes the theater in a fitting Finale. We find that the reliving of El Acosado's heroic suffering has taken place in forty-six minutes, the duration of the Eroica. (pp. 110-11)