Essay Questions

What is the significance of Pato taking a taxi away from his going away party?

The significance is that Maureen has stated that she and Pato reconciled and committed to one another to be together in America...and that all of this occurred at the train station after his party. However, Pato's brother Ray enters at the end of the play to clarify for the audience that his brother left in a taxi, which he says to Maureen. With this information, we know that Maureen has imagined the entire scene with Pato, and that it never happened.

Why does Maureen believe her mother destroys any messages that are for her?

Mag is seen destroying the address to Ray's party as well as the letter to Maureen from Pato. Maureen rails against her mother for burning the party information, saying that her mother is attempting to keep her close so that she can care for her. Essentially, that her Mother wants her to stay with her until she dies because she can't take care of herself and thus demands it from her daughter, not allowing any outsider to come between her and her daughter.

How does Maureen find out that Mag destroyed Pato's letter to her?

Mag has already burned Pato's letter to Maureen which asked her to join him in Boston as soon as she could and to apologize for his failed ability to be intimate with her. Mag is unable to control herself when Maureen speaks of her sexual encounter with Pato, the reason being that Mag knows that Pato was unable to perform sexually and she snickers about it in front of her daughter. This causes Maureen to immediately know that her Mother has destroyed information that was meant for her. This leads to Maureen torturing her Mother for the information in the letter she destroyed.