Chapter 3 Summary

This chapter starts with the description of a scene with Magdalena's tias, aunts, which paints a glamorous picture of her mother and also of Magdalena's father's sisters. All of them delicate, they eat the food that Josefa prepares and Lucia, another maid in the household, serves. They speak of people and politics. They mention that Fidel Castro is visiting Uruguay because of an incident involving a dead Nazi soldier. There is talk that perhaps Cora's father is involved in the incident. The bulk of their conversation is based around what they call piropos,the practice of men calling after women in the street with compliments and lewd gestures, which is supposed to be complimentary. It is an old custom and the women are not sure that they appreciate it anymore. However they feel they can do nothing about it. An American woman in...