The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

The story’s narrator, Josefina, is a young girl who says that her mother, grandmother, and sister were terrified of every possible harm the world could deliver, but Josefina never shared their fear until they visited Corrientes when she was six. What Josefina remembers most about the trip was visiting a witch whom people called The Woman. There was a large well in The Woman’s yard that Josefina peered into excitedly despite her mother and grandmother’s panic, and she spent the afternoon examining The Woman’s altars and offerings while her mother, sister, and grandmother sat on stools as The Woman “talked, or prayed” (39). When Josefina got bored, she fell asleep in an armchair and woke after dark. She wanted to look in the well again before they left, but she was suddenly consumed by fear. 

Even after they returned to Buenos Aires, Josefina couldn’t sleep. Every noise she heard seemed to herald doom, and even her own heartbeat filled her with fear. She was sure she could see the devil’s face in the plaster on the ceiling and worried about a ghost known as the Mule Spirit when she heard a horse or donkey nearby.