The Feast of the Goat

Urania describes the evening of Trujillo’s “party” to her family. That night, Manuel Alfonso arrived on time to take young Urania to Mahogany House. Her father disappeared into the bathroom: “He didn’t have the courage to say goodbye while he was looking me in the eye” (385). Adelina questions Urania’s memory for detail. Urania assures her that while she does forget some things, her memory of that night is impeccable. Urania recalls that the route they took was circuitous; Manolita questions why she didn’t say anything if it seemed strange, but Urania has no answer.

Once Manuel Alfonso and young Urania were on the highway, he began to prepare her by charming her “like the brides of Moloch, pampered and dressed up like princesses before they were thrown in the fire, into the mouth of the monster” (386). Urania asked him who else would be at the party, and Manuel Alfonso excitedly informed her that the party was just for her. He asked her if she was a good daughter, and if she wanted to help her father. Then he explained what things she should avoid, so she didn’t irritate Trujillo.

At Mahogany House, Benita introduced herself. She gave Urania a brief tour, then asked her what she’d have for breakfast the next morning, which was how Urania learned that she would be sleeping with Trujillo. Benita took Urania to a bar on the first floor, filled with kitschy decorations, and offered her a drink, which Urania declined. Music began, and Trujillo entered in his olive-green everyday uniform with a glass of cognac; he, too, offered Urania a drink.

Urania tells her family that she knows now that Trujillo preferred voluptuous women, and that he was likely disappointed in her slenderness; however, he likely didn’t send her away “because the idea of breaking a virgin’s cherry excites men” (391). Adelina is shocked; Urania apologizes, but explains that this is what Trujillo stated to her, and additionally that his brother Petán preferred to do it by hand.

Young Urania and Trujillo danced together for several songs before retiring to the sofa. Trujillo assumed that she remained quiet because she had so much respect for him. He recited a poem by Pablo Neruda and took her upstairs, changed into a bathrobe, and began to undress her. When Urania neither resisted nor reciprocated, Trujillo eventually grew angry. His Excellency didn’t care about her experience; she only needed “to have an intact cherry that he could break, making her moan—howl, scream—in pain” (395). When he could not maintain an erection, he forced Urania onto the bed, pushed his hands into her, and broke her hymen; when he finished, he insisted on inspecting her to confirm that he succeeded. Afterward, he lay on his back and cried—not out of guilt, but out of anger over his erectile dysfunction.

In the present day, Adelina begs Urania to stop, but Urania continues telling the story. Her voice sweetens, and she explains that Adelina had insisted on knowing why she disdained her father and cut off contact with the family, and now she knows the truth.

After a time, Trujillo began to complain about the unfairness of his impotence. As he spoke, Urania remained completely still, “hoping he wouldn’t remember she was there” (397). She looked at the defeated man on the bed and saw the man her father had served so loyally for three decades; she hoped that after that night, Trujillo wouldn’t rehabilitate Agustín, and that Trujillo might even have him killed. Suddenly remembering that she was there, Trujillo ordered Urania to get washed, to dress herself, and leave.

Benita asked the driver to take Urania back to the city; however, when the driver asked where she lived, Urania told him that she lived at Santo Domingo Academy. She told the story to Sister Mary, who took her to the refectory and cared for her, kept the incident a secret, and arranged for a scholarship at their sister academy in the United States. Sister Mary then convinced Agustín both to allow Urania to leave and to not see his daughter again.

When Urania finishes, her family reacts negatively. Manolita and Lucinda, though shocked, insist that some good came out of it, as Urania now has a good life in the United States. Adelina tries to redeem her brother, convincing herself that he loved Urania and that he might not have understood was he had done. Urania shrugs the reaction off, having completed her mission, and tells them that she’ll be returning to New York the next morning and must go back to the hotel. Her cousins exhort her to keep in touch this time. Lucinda and her daughter drive Urania back to her hotel; before she departs, Marianita hugs Urania close and tells her that she’s “going to” love her very much and write every month, regardless of whether Urania answers. In her room, as Urania packs, she decides that if Marianita does write, she will respond.