The Fountains of Silence: A Novel

Ana visits the workshop where Julia works as a seamstress, sewing gemstones onto the outfits for matadors. Ana hates the way her sister looks: “Julia’s face, thirsty of color, needs rest and sun. Julia has a new baby girl, just four months old. The baby is not yet strong. Neither is Julia” (36). Julia and her husband Antonio are saving money to move from Vallecas to Lavapies. Where they currently live in Vallecas, four adults and a newborn share a single dark room.

Ana tells Julia about Daniel and the magazine she saw, but Julia reminds her that what she saw in the magazine does not apply to Ana; it is not what life is like for young women in Spain. Julia tells her to avoid speaking to the guests, but Ana reminds her that being conversational is part of her job. Julia advises her to “ask questions” but “not to answer any” (38).

Following the chapter are excerpts from both the Semanario Sección Femenina, the women’s section of Falangist policy, concerning rules for women; and from Formación Político Social, a textbook. Both direct women to be subordinate to men.