A poet has the rare gift of not only capturing an individual's inner life but also shaping and reflecting a people's dreams for freedom and a homeland. Camila admires her mother, Salome, for her bold stance against oppression. In the sections told from Salome's perspective, Alvarez creates a character who not only denounces tyranny but also advocates for personal passion and the power of love. Salome speaks from the deep pain of emotional and sexual betrayal she once suffered in silence. Caught between her duty to help build la patria and her love for her children, Salome finds a solution when she realizes that political and sexual freedoms are closely connected. How can a nation be free if it enslaves its women? How can a homeland be declared if women are denied the freedom to express themselves emotionally and sexually as men do?

With this understanding, Salome dedicates herself to educating the young women who attend the school she starts in her home. She writes to inspire her readers to take noble actions despite the repression she and, later, Camila encounter. Camila, as a college professor and guardian of her mother's legacy, has spent "All her life . . . thinking first of her words' impact on the significant roles her father and brothers and uncles and cousins played in the world." Thus, "it is a mystery how the heart gets free," just as it is a mystery how a homeland gains freedom.

On the other hand, poetry sharpens our focus and brings clarity, linking us to fundamental values. A poet shines when she can articulate "what we all feel but don't have the courage to express." In the end, it is the language and the words that shape "who we are." As Camila ponders, the genuine revolution can only be achieved "by the imagination," through "the struggle to see and the struggle to love the flawed thing we see—what other struggle is there?" Through the characters of Salome and Camila, Alvarez skillfully weaves together various themes and social issues: literacy, language, poetry, perception, revolution, and la patria. It is only through the ongoing effort to see, create, discover, and comprehend the words, and to teach them, that la patria, a true homeland, can be realized. The novel's concluding scene emphasizes that one must continually strive repeatedly until success is attained.

Throughout Alvarez's four novels, a recurring motif is the concept of a parallel or secondary family, highlighting the significant societal issue of institutionalized male infidelity. Dubbed as the "custom of the country," this practice involves men establishing and maintaining additional families, which is portrayed as a means for men to demonstrate their masculinity and perhaps their financial status. This custom has been, and remains, widespread in Latin America. Alvarez critiques this tradition by showcasing its effects on the women and children involved and by suggesting a connection between sexual and political oppression.

When Salome discovers that her husband, Pancho (Francisco Henriquez), has fathered another family while he was studying medicine in Paris, she is furious and distances herself from him. This estrangement lasts until the end of her life when they have a final intimate encounter, resulting in the birth of Camila. Alvarez delves into the many repercussions of such situations, which can be severe and enduring, both financially and emotionally, although some effects might appear harmless, such as having numerous women in a family to care for children and manage household chores.

In a section narrated from Salome's viewpoint, she remembers a fifteen-year-old girl who came to her door after being expelled by her family for being pregnant by a...