2 ?b90

87
Josg Eugenio Cemr era un punto de rara confluencia
universitaria La seguridad de su alegria,
la elegancia de su voluntad, la magia de su ejerei-
tada diseiplina intelectual, le regalaban centro,
le otorgaban gracias, que sin ofuscar de sÜbito, mantenlan
una cariffosa temperatura, de criollo fuerte,
refinado, limpido, que hacia que se le buscase, y.
como uno de los signos de su fortaleza, sin agotarse
en su intimidad ni debilitarse en arenosas confidencias
(1,171).
Lezama portrays the couple as particularly blessed with exceptional
qualities of spirit which commend them to all who know them. Rialta
appears to be guided in her judgements by a secret voice, presumably
that of Divine Grace, since the gift of walking on the waters is that
of Christ or of Venus rising from the foam. Josd Eugenio is the cen-
tral point in his social circle, just as he will be the centre of his
family. Lezama places considerable emphasis on the fact that he
appeals to all classes of students, and he denotes them by "los casi-
mires y gabardinas de los estudiantes de familias ricas" and "las
americanas de entreestaci6n de los estudiantes rrAs pobres" (1,172).
He is a man of the new republic: "En la pr6xima convocatoria, para for-
mar la oficialidad de la naciente rep6blica, alcanzaba el numero uno ...
(1,165) and in this sense too he must appeal to all, as does the re-
public itself. Thus Lezama links even this most personal of moments,
the marriage of Jos6 Eugenio and Rialta based on that of his own parents,
with the dawning of the new republic of Cuba.
At this stage in the narrative, the reader is no longer confused
as to the ages of the main characters, although the difficulty of
tracing the time-scale in this part of the novel remains. This ob-
scurity may have been intended by Lezama to give the impression of an
inevitable event whichchooses its own time and place and then just
"happens" before our very eyes. Lezama is not a writer given to com-
pressing events for the sake of brevity. On the contrary, quite minor