What does silent represent in the novel, Mexican Gothic?

Various representations of silence in the novel are symbolic of control over women. One of these is the Doyle family rule that forbids talking during meals. This rule is established and enforced by Florence, a woman, but also has the function of controlling Noemí, a woman who is inclined to speak her mind and disrupt the solemn and male-dominated atmosphere of the house. Noemí also dreams and thinks multiple times of a golden woman who has no mouth. By the end of the novel, it is established that the woman represents Agnes, whose mind has been harnessed by Howard to maintain the gloom.