Under the Volcano

The Consul wakes to a devastating hangover, hounded not only by the pounding in his skull but also by the cacophony of voices in his head. These “familiars” chase him into his garden, where he locates a bottle of tequila that he hid upon Hugh’s arrival. He notices the dilapidated state of his garden, made worse by the pristine condition of his neighbor’s. While in the garden, he sees a sign that reads “¿LE GUSTA ESTE JARDÍN? ¿QUE ES SUYO? ¡EVITE QUE SUS HIJOS LO DESTRUYAN!” (135), which translates to “You like this garden? Why is it yours? We evict those who destroy!” (135). The sign evokes feeling in the Consul that he also had on the morning of Yvonne’s departure. The Consul drinks his tequila and bothers his American neighbor to distract himself from the thought. 

His neighbor Mr. Quincey reluctantly listens to him insist that he is sober. The Consul then shares his theory of how Adam’s punishment was not to leave the Garden of Eden, but to stay, and that the original sin was that of owning property. He drunkenly lectures Mr. Quincey’s cat on William Blackstone, a man from Massachusetts who initially settled into an Indigenous American community before joining a Puritan settlement. However, not assimilating to their society, he soon rejoined the Indigenous Americans, to the Puritans’ disapproval and retribution. The Consul loses sight of his neighbor but sees that Dr. Vigil is walking up the path to visit Mr. Quincey. The Consul intercepts him, and Dr. Vigil, who was drinking with the Consul at the Red Cross Ball the night before, suggests that the Consul drink more to combat his withdrawal tremors. After their conversation, the Consul returns to his house, taking stock of the nature around him and greeting Hugh and Yvonne on the porch. 

The Consul wakes up in the bathroom, confused and disoriented. He begins having flashbacks from his blackout and remembers that he, Hugh, Yvonne, and Dr. Vigil met on the porch, and Dr. Vigil suggested the Consul take a long trip for his health. The doctor then invited the trio to Guanajuato with him, but all declined—Hugh to catch the night train to Mexico City, the Consul for Yvonne’s sake. It dawns on the Consul that he, Yvonne, and Hugh decided on a day trip to Tomalín and that he is in the bathroom to prepare for it. The Consul flees the bathroom to escape a hallucination of a swarm of bugs, only to settle on his bed to listen to a chorus of the voices of his loved ones, past and present.

Hugh tries to find the San Antonio radio station and settles on to the porch daybed. He thinks of his upcoming sea trip and finds himself reminiscing about his earlier days. He was a guitar player in an earlier life and worked hard to sell two songs before attending university. In an attempt to elevate publicity for his songs, he signed up to go to sea. A part of him hoped that his family would stop him, but the Consul insisted that it would be good for him, preventing his aunt from stepping in. On the ship, the Philoctetes, Hugh was treated terribly by his shipmates, who did not trust his status in society. His voyage took him through the Middle East and up the Chinese Coast and he hoped that his experiences would boost his songs’ popularity back in London. 

Partway through his voyage, Hugh switched ships and sailed on the Oedipus Tyrannus, a dilapidated ship on a much longer journey with a noticeably more grizzled crew. However, despite being treated better on his new ship, Hugh returned to the Philoctetes a month later with dysentery, signaling an end to his time abroad. Back in London, Hugh rushed to check on his success with his publisher, Mr. Bolowski. Bolowski printed his compositions but made no attempt to promote them, as he had already made a profit from the printing alone. Destitute, Hugh took a newspaper job and plotted his revenge on Mr. Bolowski. Hugh seduced Bolowski’s wife but was soon hit with a summons to divorce court and a claim of plagiarism by Bolowski. Just as it seemed that his life would crumble before him, Bolowski forgave Hugh and dropped both cases.

Hugh emerges from his memory to help his half-brother shave, as the Consul’s tremors are too severe for him to do it on his own. The two speak of their respective times at Cambridge. During their conversation, Hugh once again recounts his rise as a guitar player and the series of events that led him to give it up. He found that the more he traveled and wrote for his journalistic endeavors, the less inspired he felt to play. Hugh’s thoughts are occasionally interrupted by the conversation he is having with the Consul, about the state of Mexico and the role of the military police in the area. He realizes that the Consul’s addiction is more serious than he believed. Hugh helps the Consul to finish shaving and dressing and soon they are ready to leave for Tomalín with Yvonne.

On their walk into town, the trio meet Jacques, and Yvonne takes his arm while Hugh and the Consul linger a few steps behind. Hugh has never met Jacques and it takes him a moment to realize that the Consul is being cold to him. They decide to stop at Jacques’s house and on their way are met by a postman who delivers a letter to the Consul. It is a postcard from Yvonne that has traveled the world over the past year before finding its way to him. It is from the time of Yvonne’s departure, letting him know where he can find her.