Heartbreak Tango: Analysis of Major Characters
"Heartbreak Tango" delves into the complexities of love and loss through its major characters, centered around Juan Carlos Etchepare, a ladies' man whose life is viewed through the lens of those he left behind after his death. The narrative unfolds as readers piece together Juan Carlos’s multifaceted personality from the perspectives of various characters, including Nélida Enriqueta Fernández, a married woman haunted by her unfulfilled love for him. Nené's reflections reveal her frustration with her current life and a longing for the romanticized past she shared with Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos's sister, Celina, complicates the storyline by fiercely defending her brother's reputation while grappling with her own questionable choices. Other characters, like Francisco Catalino Páez, a lecherous police officer, and Big Fanny, a servant girl caught in a bleak romance, provide contrasting views of desire and power dynamics. Each character's narrative contributes to a deeper understanding of Juan Carlos, highlighting themes of memory, jealousy, and the quest for identity amid heartbreak. The interplay of these relationships creates a rich tapestry of emotions that invites readers to reflect on the nature of love and the impact of loss on personal identities.
Heartbreak Tango: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Manuel Puig
First published: Boquitas pintadas, 1969 (English translation, 1973)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Argentina
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: Primarily 1937–1939, 1949, and 1968
Juan Carlos Etchepare (eht-cheh-PAH-reh), a ladies' man who is suffering from tuberculosis. Although Juan Carlos is the center of the novel, the reader cannot with total confidence know his personality and character. The novel begins after his death, and the reader must reconstruct Juan Carlos through unreliable sources: the letters and memories of persons who loved him too much and understood him too little, his brief comments remembered years after the fact, and a few of his love letters, the sincerity of which is at least suspect. Tall, dark, and handsome, Juan Carlos is in a sense a walking cliché. He saw himself as a ladies' man of the Hollywood matinee variety, as did many of the women whom he encountered. Beneath the arrogant playboy exterior is a sensitive, frightened man who becomes more frightened and more in need of true understanding and compassion as he approaches death. The reader's task in untangling events is not so much to understand what really happened as to understand who Juan Carlos really was.
Nélida (Nené) Enriqueta Fernández (NEH-lee-dah neh-NEH ehn-ree-KEH-tah fehr-NAHN-dehs), a married woman who had been in love with Juan Carlos. Compared to most of her friends stuck back in the dusty hinterlands town of Coronel Vallejos, Nené has done well for herself in life. She has married a successful businessman and moved to the big city (Buenos Aires). Nené is a study in frustration. She—and the reader through her eyes—sees the mediocrity of her emotional and material life. Her constant thoughts of Juan Carlos are an attempt to recover a time of romance that is quite likely more glorious in her imagination than it was in reality. Her letters to Juan Carlos' mother, which compose a substantial portion of the novel, are not so much an effort to cleanse herself of guilt as they are an attempt to share a hallowed memory.
Celina Etchepare (seh-LEE-nah), Juan Carlos'sister. Celina is about the same age as Nené and comes from approximately the same socioeconomic background. It seems natural that the two should be good friends; such is not the case. Celina so fiercely defends her brother's reputation from the attacks in Nené's letters that she seems almost to be motivated by jealousy. Strangely, considering her defense of her brother's honor, she is no saint herself, having probably been involved in more affairs than Juan Carlos.
Francisco Catalino Páez (kah-tah-LEE-noh PAH-ehs), a police officer and friend of Juan Carlos. If Juan Carlos is the suave playboy, Francisco is his cruder but no less lecherous sidekick. Francisco gets his way with women largely by intimidation and brute force, and he pays for this with a violent death.
Antonia Josefa Ramírez (hoh-SEH-fah rah-MEE-rehs), also known as Big Fanny, a servant girl. Big Fanny is a poor girl with few options in life or in love. Her big “romance” is a hopeless, squalid one with Francisco. Both are largely inarticulate. Francisco expresses himself best physically; Big Fanny, when things are bleakest, responds with violence.
Donato José Massa (doh-NAH-toh hoh-SEH MAH-sah), Nené's husband. Massa is a local auctioneer who catches Nené “on the rebound” from Juan Carlos. Massa's move to Buenos Aires with his wife is an attempt to move up in the world, but his small dreams and minor successes cannot measure up to his wife's memories of Juan Carlos.
Leonor Saldívar de Etchepare (leh-oh-NOHR sahlDEE-vahr), Juan Carlos' mother. Leonor offers another perspective on Juan Carlos.