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epeatedly, ad nauseam: in the garden, at the mall, at the beach; eating, talking,
dancing, laughing (fortunately not doing other more private things!). . . . A
proliferation of images that made her feel trapped, fragmented, invaded” (128-
129). Estela’s discomfort is subconsciously absorbed by Gina and turned into a
nightmare in which she becomes a character trapped in her own movie called
The Pinos Verdes Wife:
The Pinos Verdes Wife, TAKE 53. She’s sitting alone in a theater
watching a movie when, suddenly, she realizes the movie is about her.
The screen has become a crystal ball where Gina’s life is unfolding.
“Who the hell did this to me!” she screams within the walls of her
subconscious. “Who turned me into a character!” . . .
She’s helpless, unable to break frame, unable to do
anything but watch, having to face the onslaught of events with no
recourse and no power. There are some good moments, but few
compared to the long stretches of boredom and domesticity that await
her. What about her career Like, does she have an exciting job It
doesn’t show up on this screen! Her professional world has been cut out
of the final print, scraps on the floor of some dusty editing room.
Rejects.
“Get me out of here!” she wails . . . Through the distorted lens
of her dream, she has turned into a Pinos Verdes Wife. Gina Domingo is
Mrs. Robert Holmes. Worse: she sounds and acts and talks just like her
mother! “Fire the screenwriter!” Gina cries out . . . (129)
Dreams and nightmares, presented as imagined films, are frequent in the
novel, and they contribute to the layering effect of represented reality. They also
give depth to Gina’s psychological struggles. Estella’s reaction to being filmed
triggers in Gina a questioning stance towards her own assumptions about what
constitutes reality or, the “Truth.”
The Computer
The computer is also an important part of Gina’s life. In it, she keeps her
files with names such as “You,” “Cartas,” and “Family”: “Her machine kept up
with the images that ran through her head. It did it all so fast! Using this
computer was like talking to herself, only better. . . . But the most amazing thing
about this hardware was that it allowed Gina to keep a record of her life, of who
she was. The real “You,” magically stored in files and hidden. Saved” (58). The
computer, as well as all the other gadgets, help the insecure Gina hold on to
images and words that ground her sense of self in recognizable, fixed elements
that she can control.
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