Mariela

Of all the characters, Mariela is featured in the most stories, appearing in "Lemon Pie," "M+M," "Siberian Tiger Park," "Honey Bunny," "The Tourists," and "Beyond the Cake." In "Lemon Pie," the Professor remembers Mariela as "a girl with a long black braid" writing not he shoe of "a boy with dirty-blond hair" (44). This image of Mariela and Martin prepares the reader for Mariela's relationship with Martin in "M+M". In "Honey Bunny," La Flaca also remembers a girl who "sucks on the tip of her ponytail" (125), but can't remember who used to do this. In "Honey Bunny," La Flaca herself begins sucking on the tip of her pony-tail, thus imitating Mariela. In both these stories, then, Mariela acts as an unnamed figure, who reminds the story's main character of his / her past life: for the Professor, Mariela reminds him of his time as a teacher; for La...