Words are free, she used to say, and she appropriated them; they were all hers.
By this quote, we can understand how Eva's mother used words to enhance her storytelling abilities. She saw words as something free, but of great power. By knowing when and how to use the correct words, she would transform ordinary stories into extraordinary ones, normal objects into magical ones. Only by using words she could totally transform herself as well, from a silent person to a charming and magical one.
On that long journey, she wept all the tears stored in her soul, leaving none in reserve for later sorrows.
Consuelo was forced to leave her place and go to the city, to the Convent of the Little Sisters of the Charity. However, she was happy at her current place, so she didn't enjoy the trip to the capital a bit, and that is why she wept. In this quote, we get a glimpse of Consuelo's character, and how this side of her shaped Eva's character as well. She was a person who enjoyed the present and didn't allow the past to affect it. That's why after crying during the journey, she freed herself from all the negative emotions related to leaving her place and going somewhere unknown. Being free from these emotions, she would be able to enjoy her new place, her present, without the past holding her back.
Eva had the same character as well; she wouldn't worry about the past and wouldn't allow it to shape her present and her future. Furthermore, she had the ability to even change her past in her imagination in order to not suffer from sad memories and even benefit from happier ones.
Although stunned and hungry, many sang, because it would have been pointless to aggravate misfortune by complaining.
Terrible floods occurred, where the rain over-flooded the rivers, flooded houses and carried away cars and trees.
Victims on the roofs of the houses were waiting patiently for help and they weren't complaining. Because the bad had happened, they didn't want to make it even worse by complaining about how unlucky they were. They preferred to sing about how lucky they were to be alive in such a terrible situation. This quote again restates the idea of living in the present, embracing it, being happy about it, and not letting happy memories suffer from sad ones that occurred in the past. Because the floods happened, and nobody could change that, victims preferred to be optimistic and instead of finding something to complain about, thus making their lives more miserable, they found something to be happy about, making their lives better.
There is no death, daughter. People die only when we forget them,' my mother explained shortly before she left me.
Eva's mother gave this advice to her daughter to remind her that even if she wouldn't live anymore, Eva shouldn't be desperate about it. As long as she remembered her mother, her stories, her advice, her mother wouldn't be dead, at least not emotionally. She would live in Eva's memories.
If Eva wanted to talk to her mother, she would remember the fascinating stories her mother told her.
If Eva would face a difficult situation, she would use the emotional memories of her mother to guide her to navigate the present. This is the same as her mother being alive and advising and talking to her.
She sowed in my mind the idea that reality is not only what we see on the surface; it has a magical dimension as well and, if we so desire, it is legitimate to enhance it and color it to make our journey through life less trying.
This advice from her mother serves as the foundation of Eva's character. By this advice, Eva learns that it wasn't mandatory to live life with all the bad memories in it. She learned that she could transform these bad memories into good ones, by using the power of her imagination. This ability of hers allowed Eva to survive in very difficult conditions, through difficulties that tried to pull her down. By transforming these difficulties in her imagination, she freed herself from all the negative emotions related to these difficulties, allowing herself to move forward and succeed.
