Spoilers Ahead!
I don’t know what I was expecting when my class, Spanish 119, assigned the short story Detrás De La Reja. I was certainly not expecting this 11-page story to be filled with so many twists. The author, Amparo Dávila, wanted to leave the audience with suspense, and let me tell you, it worked.
To summarize the story in one sentence, it’s about a niece and an aunt who are interested in the same man. At first glance, this sounds like something family members would be able to resolve. But no. In this story, there is no such thing as talking things out. Things start to get complicated the moment the niece decides to have a secret relationship with the man, Dario. Paulina, the aunt, does not find out until after she comes back from her 15-day work trip in Mexico. She did not react well at all, especially because she found them in an intimate moment.
Instead of confronting her niece, Paulina goes out of her way to make her life miserable. However, Dorotea (Paulina’s mom and the niece’s grandma) is the one person who keeps the two women from completely separating. Unfortunately, Dorotea passes away and that’s when the niece finds herself alone with guilt, wishing that she could see Dario, her lover, once more. But Paulina has different plans for her, ones that include locking her up in a psychiatric hospital.
All of this for a man? In the story, Dario is characterized as a sweet, charming man. He ends up making these two girls fall for him, but he tells the niece that he only wants her. But instead of being straightforward with Paulina, he continues to lead her on because he doesn’t want to be rude. Who knows, maybe this could have all been avoided if everyone talked things out. Nonetheless, it was a love triangle that ended up really badly.
The author left me in suspense. Now I am left wondering, did the niece ever get out of the psychiatric hospital? Did she get to see Dario again? What about her aunt Paulina? So many questions and all left unanswered! But that’s where our imagination comes in handy. We get to create the ending we want.
The story reminded me of Princess Cinderella, where Paulina is the evil stepmom and the niece is Cinderella. Paulina does not want to see her niece with Dario and would rather have her locked up and suffering than happy. Unfortunately, the niece doesn’t get her happy ending like Cinderella and remains locked up. It also reminded me of the real world. There are people out there who are like Paulina: envious and are willing to go out of their way to prevent someone’s success. Sometimes the saying is true: “They want to see you do good, but never better than them.” Knowing that a friend or family does these things is heartbreaking because sometimes it comes from the person we least expect it from.
If you have a friend or family member who makes you feel like Paulina made her niece feel, do not hesitate to tell someone how you feel. We all deserve happiness and support. Say goodbye to bad energy and hello to supportive ones! Don’t forget to check out Detrás De La Reja—you won’t regret it!