La casa del ángel (1957)

Set in the 1920s, the story centers on Ana Castro, a fourteen-year-old girl who lives with her very religious mother and her father, Dr. Castro, who is interested in politics and government. Ana also lives with her sisters: Julieta, who openly disobeys their mother’s religious teachings, and Isabel, who is always absent and sometimes very strict and vain. Ana begins to experience new changes in her life that leave her completely confused. During the summer vacation, her cousin Vicenta comes to visit the family and is always intent on teasing Ana about boys; they even talk about sex and things Ana is not used to hearing. As the days go by, Ana becomes disturbed by her mother’s religious obsessions, thoughts about sex, and the images of hell and the apocalypse instilled in her by her nanny. But her life changes when she meets Congressman Pablo Aguirre, a womanizer who has killed several opponents in duels. Aguirre challenges Congressman Esquivel, an opponent who accuses him of fraud, to a pistol duel. The duel is to take place at Ana’s house, where Aguirre invites her to dance at a party, thinking it may be his last dance. On the night of the duel, Ana goes to Aguirre’s room to wish him luck and gives him her rosary. There, Aguirre ends up raping her, and Ana goes to her room. She then wishes he would die in the duel, but Aguirre survives and becomes friends with her father. Years pass, and Aguirre continues to visit Ana’s home to see her father; the two spend hours talking. The rape is never revealed, and Ana ends up sadly wandering the streets. She says she sees Aguirre everywhere, and he even appears in her most critical moments.