Draft:The mountain of the ánimas

El monte de las ánimas

Author	Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Publication place	Spain

El monte de las ánimas is one of the stories that form part of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's collection called Soria. The legend tells what happened to a young man called Alonso when he tried to please his cousin on the night of the dead, the night of All Saints' Day. It was published on 7 November 1861 with sixteen other legends in the newspaper El Contemporáneo.

Structure

Works by Bécquer, t. II, 4th ed., 1885, in DjVu.

The main narrative is preceded by a preamble and closed by an epilogue, and is structured in three parts:

Introduction: Alonso tells his cousin Beatriz the legend of Monte de las Ánimas.

Plot: Beatriz challenges Alonso to go to the Mount of Souls to retrieve a ribbon he has lost.

Conclusion: During the night, Alonso dies on the mountain, and Beatriz dies of fright. In the epilogue, we learn about the eternal punishment that Beatriz suffers.

Prologue: The prologue sets the narrative in the realm of tradition: the author is going to write a story he has heard, which is so plausible that it frightens him.

I

Alonso, son of the Counts of Alcudiel, and his cousin Beatriz, daughter of the Counts of Borges, return from a hunt in the Mount of Souls, and he tells her a legend that circulates in Soria: that mountain was owned by the Templars, who had been called by the king to fight against the Arabs, something that had upset the Sorian nobles. The disagreements between them eventually led to an armed confrontation on the mountain, and since then, on the Night of the Dead, they rise from their graves to continue fighting. And it is the Night of the Dead, which is why Alonso advises that they leave as soon as possible.

II

Once at home, Alonso suggests to his cousin that, before parting ways, they exchange gifts. He offers her a small jewel that held the plume of his cap, and she offers a blue ribbon she wore on her dress. But when he goes to give it to her, he realizes he has lost it on the Mount of Souls. He feels compelled to go look for it, especially when Beatriz shows skepticism about the legend and mocks Alonso's fears.

III

Beatriz lies down but cannot fall into a peaceful sleep: she hears noises, creaking doors, footsteps approaching, voices calling her, and sees terrifying shadows... Finally, overcome by the tension of fear, she falls asleep. The next morning, upon waking, she sees the blue ribbon that Alonso had gone to retrieve beside her bed. And when the servants enter to inform her that they have found her cousin dead on the mountain, they also find her dead, terrified.

IV

They say that since then, on the Night of the Dead, a woman has been seen wandering around Alonso's grave on the Mount of Souls, chased by the skeletons of nobles and Templars.

Place and characters

The story takes place in Monte de las Ánimas, located on the outskirts of Soria and on the banks of the Duero River.

Other special references that appear in the Legend include:

Monastery of San Juan de Duero, Soria.

1. The city of Soria. The Postigo clock stands out among the references made to it. The Postigo Gate was one of the gates in the walls of Soria, still preserved in the author's time.
2. The convent of San Polo, located on the outskirts of Soria, of which only the church remains today. Its foundation is attributed to the Order of the Templars.
3. San Juan de Duero. Romanesque monastery in Soria belonging to the Order of Malta.
4. El Monte de las Ánimas. Located on the outskirts of Soria and on the banks of the Duero. A certain brotherhood used to yield the fruits of this place to raise funds to say masses for the souls of the deceased, hence the name of the Mount.
5. The bridge that leads to the city.
6. Mount Moncayo, located on the border between Soria and Zaragoza.

For their part, the characters are:

• Alonso: Heir to the land on which the story is set. He is a young and innocent boy. He is in love with the beautiful Beatrice. He dies to please her by going in search of a lost object of hers.
• Beatriz: She is Alonso's cousin, daughter of the Counts of Borges. She is a young and beautiful woman with dark hair, thin lips and deep blue eyes.
• Otros personajes: Counts, servants, hunters, Templars and noblemen.

Topics

The following themes are set out in the legend:

• There is a connection that fits two themes at the same time. Bécquer takes the universal folkloric theme with the confrontation of the Templars against the noble lords of Soria, and adds to the work the character of the woman, who deceives the man in order to achieve her aims and dominate him. These two themes are constantly related throughout the play, and are the ones that are most clearly seen, which are struggle and love.
• The traditional and the artistic appear, with elements such as, for example, the church ringing the bells at midnight to inform that it is All Saints' Day. The work also features all kinds of strange noises, such as the sound of footsteps on Beatriz's carpet, the creaking of wood, the rattling of glass on the balcony, the water falling incessantly, the barking of dogs and the gusts of wind. With all these sounds, Bécquer intended to convey feelings of fear and unease to the reader.