Constancia Agüero Cruz

One of the sisters of the title, Constancia is petite, feminine, and proper, and these traits stand in stark contrast to her sister Reina, whose Amazonian figure suits her larger-than-life personality. When the novel opens, Constancia is fifty-one years old and living in New York with her husband, Heberto Cruz. She's a successful businesswoman who sells makeup out of a deep conviction of its importance. She's "motivated not by commissions, only by the satisfaction of staving off women's little everyday deaths." The way Constancia sees herself is shaped by and reflected in her external appearance. Rejecting "the modern ethos of comfort before style," she wears high-heeled shoes and color-coordinated out- fits to perform the routine tasks of her work day. Constancia sees her own appearance as a selling tool. She's "partial to Adolfo suits, which set off her petite figure, and she completes every ensemble...