The Bewitching

The narrative switches to 1908, where Alba Quiroga and her family live on Piedras Quebradas, a farm in Hidalgo, Mexico. She is the oldest of her siblings, and now that her father is dead, Alba has taken on more of the household responsibilities. She feels that her mother is always irritated, and her eldest brother, Tadeo, is busy overseeing the animals and field work. Alba has become skilled in various areas of domestic work, but she does not always enjoy her tasks. She is impractical by nature and prefers reading Greek myths and preparing elaborate meals to minding her younger siblings and cooking basic staples.

She has been hoping for a visit from her favorite uncle Arturo and even cast a small spell to summon him, although she knows that most of the people in her family would disapprove of her “folk” beliefs. Arturo is her the younger brother of Alba’s mother, Luisa, and he is only four years older than Alba herself (24). Arturo, who lives in Mexico City, spent some time on the farm as a young man, but never got along with Alba’s father or her brother, preferring the bustle of city life. He views his country relatives as old-fashioned.

When he arrives, Arturo and Tadeo clash passive-aggressively, but Luisa and Alba are happy to see Arturo. Arturo gifts Alba a beautiful necklace with a pearl pendant. Tadeo is adamant that Arturo not stay for long, but Alba is overjoyed and hopes that his visit will not be cut short by Tadeo’s rudeness.

In 1998 at Stoneridge College, Minerva attends a party but does not enjoy being there. She stays only a few minutes before sneaking out. Outside, she runs into Noah Yates, Carolyn’s grandson. He recognizes her and asks how her inquiries into his family’s papers are going. He recalls that she’s studying something about ghosts, and she corrects him: Her thesis is about witches and The Vanishing’s connection to local folklore. She confesses that she’s having trouble getting past his grandmother’s secretary, and he invites her to brunch the next day at The Willows, his family’s estate. Minerva is both stunned and thrilled. Noah is obviously drunk, but she will take him up on his offer anyway. Noah offers her a ride home in Carolyn’s chauffeured car, and as she is ferried back to her dorm, she contemplates the relationship between her thesis project and the stories her grandmother has always told her about witches and witchcraft. Her grandmother was a staunch believer in witches and spirits. During the final days of her life, she fixated on the teyolloquani, the “heart-eaters.” Given her family history, Minerva thinks, it is only natural that she chose witchcraft as the subject of her thesis.

The narrative returns to 1908. Alba’s family attends a memorial mass for Alba’s father. Afterward, some of the family’s friends come back to the farm for chocolate. The Molina family, who owns the neighboring farm, is among them. Valentín, their overseer’s nephew, is one of Tadeo and Alba’s closest childhood friends, and the Molina girls whisper that he plans to ask for Alba’s hand in marriage. Alba is not sure that she wants to marry Valentín and brushes their chatter aside. Mr. Molina does broach the topic of buying the farm, and Tadeo angrily refuses. Arturo tries to step in, arguing in favor of the sale, and the two nearly come to blows.

Later, Arturo finds Alba. He questions her about Valentín, whom she assures him is her “friend” only. She confesses that she was so excited at the prospect of Arturo’s arrival that she cast a small spell to bring him to the farm. He frowns at this and explains that these kinds of practices were the product of the peasantry’s “uneducated” mindset and that she should not try to style herself after country folk. He tells her of Mexico City’s beauty and modernity and asserts that a beauty like her belongs in the city rather than in the country.

The narrative returns to 1998, where Minerva arrives for brunch at The Willows, Carolyn’s grand estate. Noah is still asleep, and a servant leads Minerva to a sunny room in which Carolyn is brunching, alone. Carolyn is initially irritated to have been interrupted, but she softens when she discovers who Minerva is. She remembers telling her secretary that she wouldn’t speak to Minerva, but she recalls various details about Minerva aloud: She is an international scholarship student working several jobs to finance her own education. Carolyn notes dryly that Noah has never earned a dime of his own money, and she respects people with a work ethic who show initiative.

Carolyn reminisces about Tremblay. Minerva sits rapt as Carolyn explains that she, Tremblay, and another woman, Virgina “Ginny” Somerset, were once close friends. Ginny went missing in December of 1934, but her wealthy family hadn’t reported it because it was rumored that she had eloped with Santiago, a Portuguese boy who worked on campus. At the time, Ginny was engaged to Edgar Yates, whom Carolyn ended up marrying. Carolyn had been a fine arts major and now has a large collection of her own work, but also a small, abstract painting of Ginny’s on display in her estate. She explains that Ginny and Tremblay both believed in witchcraft and the supernatural, and Ginny believed that the supernatural influenced her paintings. She notes that seances and such were popular during the years following the Great War because so many people had lost loved ones.

Carolyn agrees to let Minerva look at Tremblay’s papers, but only at The Willows. She shows Minerva to another room and brings out Tremblay’s diary from the year Ginny disappeared, as well as some photographs and an unpublished manuscript—an account of Ginny’s disappearance that no one other than Carolyn has ever seen. Noah interrupts Minerva’s research, hungover and sarcastic, but nothing can dampen Minerva’s mood. Noah shows Minerva a few more of Ginny’s sketches that his grandfather, Edgar, kept. Edgar never got over Ginny’s disappearance. How odd, Minerva muses, that Edgar then married Carolyn.

The narrative turns to Tremblay’s manuscript, which begins: “Some moments return to us, intact and incandescent, undimmed by the passage of time” (66). She explains that she must tell her story in her own way and begins by describing the difficulties of the Great Depression. It came on the wave of the Roaring Twenties and took the nation by surprise. She, like many others, struggled to get by. She was lucky to have been given a scholarship and a work-study job at Stoneridge: She worked as an assistant to the French professor. She lived in 11 Joyce House with the beautiful, wealthy Carolyn Wingrave (later Yates) and their new roommate, Virginia “Ginny” Somerset.

Tremblay notes that Carolyn was from an old, New England family and disapproved of Ginny. Ginny was a dark-haired beauty from California, the daughter of a wealthy doctor to the stars. She was, by Carolyn’s standards, “new money.” Carolyn and Ginny argued constantly: Carolyn objected not only to Ginny’s background, but also to her spiritualism (Ginny believed she could speak with spirits), her hand-made clothing, and her general effervescence despite Carolyn’s insistence that she was socially unacceptable. Carolyn had a sudden change of heart after a month or so when she discovered Ginny was dating Edgar Yates, the son of another prominent member of New England society. Carolyn seemed to feel that this elevated Ginny, and the two became friends. Tremblay notes that in retrospect, she knows she was in love with Ginny, but at the time, she was just happy to be Ginny’s friend.

The narrative returns to Alba’s family farm in 1908. Arturo and Tadeo continue to clash, although with less intensity. The family attends mass and market day together, and Arturo takes Alba into the pharmacy to look at colognes and perfumes. Valentín interrupts with a basket of pastries from his mother, and Arturo is displeased. Upon exiting the pharmacy, Alba sees Tadeo arguing with a woman, Perpetua, who is a known witch. She wonders what business he might have with her. Valentín accompanies the family back to their house for a meal. Everyone is in high spirits except Arturo, who later confronts Alba about Valentín. He tells her that it is obvious to everyone except her that Valentín is courting her, and from her mother’s and Tadeo’s attitude toward Valentín, it is also obvious that the family would approve of the match. Alba is fond of Valentín, but shudders at the thought of a lifetime spent doing his laundry. She and Arturo share a moment of heightened sexual tension, and she finds the experience disquieting. She has no idea what she wants her future to hold, but finds herself drawn to Arturo. The next morning, she goes to see Tadeo, but finds his bedroom a mess. It appears that he did not sleep in his bed, and his belongings are strewn about. The most terrifying thing of all is that there is a large pool of blood on the floor.

In 1998 at Stoneridge College, Hideo tells Minerva that they have to move a few boxes from a different dorm into the storage unit at their dorm: Conrad’s former roommate, Thomas, the boy who’d lodged so many complaints against Conrad, has dropped out. The school will keep his belongings until the fall semester begins. Minerva is unnerved: She’s heard a rumor that Thomas has transferred to another school, but cannot recall from whom. She had run into him one night a few months ago, and he seemed spooked. At the time, she hadn’t paid the encounter much attention, but now it worries her. She goes out to do her rounds and hears loud music coming from Conrad’s rooms. She finds him drinking with a girl and tells him that she has to write up the infractions. He gets upset, and she hurries away, worried that he might become violent. The next morning, there are two black lines painted on the front door of her dorm in what looks like tar. She has no idea what they mean or how they got there, but they strike her as ominous.

Through Tremblay’s manuscript, the narrative flashes back to 1934. Ginny introduced herself to the new handyman on campus and learned that his name was Santiago and his family was from Portugal. The other girls teased her for paying attention to someone who was obviously working class, but Ginny didn’t care. She didn’t flirt with Santiago, and they didn’t seem to be friends, but later, when she disappeared, everyone pointed to him as having been involved.

The Halloween Ball, the biggest dance of the year, approached, allowing everyone the opportunity to mingle with boys. Rumors swirl that Carolyn’s father’s factory was about to go under and that she was looking to steal Edgar from Ginny. Ginny, unbothered, admitted that she and Edgar were engaged.

Later, as the dance came to an end, Ginny ran toward the ballroom from the grounds, terrified. She had gone out to look for Edgar, thought she saw him, and followed until he disappeared. At that point, she wondered if she’d been mistaken and hurried back. She felt an evil presence behind her and was sure that there was some kind of malevolent spirit on her tail. Although no one quite believed her, everyone was rattled.