Book Report

The “Bridge of San Luis Rey” by Thornton Wilder can be considered a philosophical novel, because it has a strong hidden meaning. The story begins when the famous woven bridge between Lima and Cuzco, in Peru, breaks, precipitating five people into the gulf below. This shocking and unexpected event catches the attention of a Franciscan, Brother Juniper. He decides to find out why these five people died and no one else. He wants to prove that there is a fate given by God to everyone. The rest of the novel is what Brother Juniper found; it is the story of the five people who died.

The first person introduced is Dona Maria, the Marquesa de Montemayor. This woman is characterized by her high sensibility that eventually may lead to insanity. She writes letters to her only daughter who she worships. She is very rich and lives with Pepita, who is her “dame de compagnie.” Pepita is an orphan brought up by the Abbess, Madre Maria del Pilar, a strong and feminist woman, founder and owner of the Convent Santa Maria Rosa de las Rosas. When the Marquesa finds out that Pepita isn’t happy with her, after reading a letter that she was going to post to the Abbess, the Marquesa realizes that it had been mad of her to worship her daughter. She wants to change and become a better person when she and Pepita cross the bridge and die.

After the story of the Marquesa de Montemayor, two twins are introduced: Manual and Esteban. They are orphans and grew up with the Abbess Madre Maria del Pilar. What is interesting with the twins is that they are very close. They even invented a language understood only by them. Their relationship was a very good one until the day the Perichole, an actress, entered into their lives. Manual fell in love with her, which made Esteban feel lonely and frustrated. Manual decided to sacrifice his love for the girl, because of his brother. Soon after, Manual hurts his leg and dies from the injury. Esteban, completely devastated, meets Captain Alvarado, who lost his daughter. He invites the young man to come with him on his trip, since he needs men to work on his ship. Esteban accepts. On his way to Lima, he crosses the bridge and falls.

The next part of the novel is called “Uncle Pio” and tells the story of this character, and Camila Perichole. Uncle Pio is the one who recruited the Perichole before she was famous. He is her manager, her singing-master, coiffeur, etc. Rumors even say that he is her father. Uncle Pio makes this twelve-year-old girl singing in cafés become a famous artist. Their relationship is a strange one, since they love each other deeply, but without passion. They care for each other, but aren’t family, lovers or friends. Uncle Pio always pushes Camila to do better. Compliments from him were very rare. At some time, the Viceroy of Peru starts to be interested in Camila. He gets closer to her and teaches her many things. They have a son, Don Jaime. At thirty, Camila stops acting. The relationship with Uncle Pio has turned bad. Uncle Pio comes to see Camila, veiled so she won’t recognize him, and asks her, with a girl’s voice, to take care of her son and teach him for one year in Lima. When, on their way, they cross the bridge of San Luis Rey, they fall.

It is interesting how all the characters in this novel are related. The three main characters (the Marquesa, Esteban and Uncle Pio) have something in common: they have suffered and when they finally decide to change their ways, they die in a tragic way. This is pretty ironic. Unexpectedly, at the end, Dona Clara (the Marquesa’s daughter), the Perichole and the Abbess realize their loss, thus the hidden meaning of the story. As long as love is there, the dead will still live. The Abbess says at the end of the novel: “There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”