How does the novel portray the maintenance and exercise of political power in the Mexica world? What forms of symbolism convey and reinforce Moctezuma’s authority? What undermines that authority?

How does the novel use Jazmín Caldera’s perspective as a counterweight to that of Cortés? How does he present an alternate model of the European gaze in Mesoamerica?

Explore the strategic and symbolic significance of the horses. How do the competing interpretations of the animals by Moctezuma, Atotoxtli, and the Spaniards reveal the cultural and technological misunderstandings at the heart of the encounter?

How do Malinalli and Princess Atotoxtli navigate and subvert patriarchal structures to wield distinct forms of power?

The novel frames the actual historical outcome of the conquest as a hallucinatory vision experienced by Hernán Cortés just before his death. Discuss how this choice reinforces the central theme of The Contingency of Historical Events.

Discuss how the narrative’s structure, which incorporates extensive flashbacks and hallucinatory dreamscapes, amplifies the psychological tension and thematic uncertainty of the 1519 encounter.

How does the novel’s nuanced characterization of Moctezuma challenge traditional historical accounts of his rule?

How does Malinalli’s mastery of multiple languages serve as a source of agency amid disempowerment?