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whelm Vivo with her power and appetite for ecstasy: "se liber6 de toda la
influencia taoistav el 'no hacer' qued6 pulverizado en innumerables frag-
mentos deseosos" (1$ 575). There are echoes of Juan Longo's wife who al-
so encourages her husband to "rendirse al sue? 1o" (1.576). Even his
neighbours notice his drugged and drowsy state, for "Salia del sueffo3, la
Lupita lo tironeaba para apoderarse de su energia sin descansOt y volvia
de nuevo al sueTio" (1,, 576). Here we have a symbolic representation of
someone who revisits the Unconscious (previously embodied in Mamita, the re-
presentative of the Great Mother) without any protection against its power.
The remedy is found by Tr6nquilo, appropriately because he is aggresively
active ("habia domado potros"; 1,31) and can withstand the negative power
of the Unconscious. The restoration of masculinity is achieved through
breathing or movement of air, perhaps signifying oriental meditation and
f oetal breathing: "Vete a casa de tu hermano C TrAnquilol por la maiTana, te
desnuda y empieza a abrir y cerrar el acorde6n" (1.577). The remedial
instrument is to be acquired from an antiquarian, which reminds one at once
of Oppiano Licario. Vivo will slowly recover, but he is unfit for the
meeting in the bus, as he still needs to balance his inner rhythms.
Finallyq the true heir to the treasure appears. Chacha, the spiri-
tualistj, whom Cemi has consultedp is clearly a symbol of the positive powers
of the Unconscious: "Su rostro era el de una vieja que ya no distingue en-
tre sus hijos y el resto de la humanidad" (1,579). Cemi is consciously
searching, but for part of himself, Oppiano Licario. The two painters are
puzzling but "el pintor amigo del pintor muerto" (1.579)
may reveal
indi-
rectly how Cemi feels about his past and future works. The dead painter
has been prolific: "llen6 sus libretas con sus indecisiones poderosas
(1,578). The remaining painter, "que lo era de oficio,, pintaba poco" (I.,
578) and Cemi wants to unite the two, so that a kind of cross-fertilization
may take place. Chacha reassures him that the dead painterp his past which