Autonomous University of Barcelona

The Autonomous University of Barcelona is the institution where Oscar Amalfitano teaches philosophy during the period when Lola returns to see Rosa in Sant Cugat. The novel gives the university a concise but concrete place in the family’s circumstances: Amalfitano travels to teach while Lola and Rosa briefly reunite at home.

Amalfitano’s Academic Post

At the time of Lola’s visit, Amalfitano lives in Sant Cugat and teaches philosophy classes at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, described as nearby. Rosa attends a public elementary school in town, leaving in the morning and returning in the afternoon. These details establish the family’s daily setting through work and school rather than through an extended account of the university itself.

The University During Lola’s Visit

After Lola tells Amalfitano that she is ill and shows him papers stating that she has AIDS, she spends several days with him and Rosa. The next day, Amalfitano returns from the university and sees Lola and Rosa walking together near the station; he follows them at a distance rather than interrupting them. They later sit together watching television. His teaching duties continue alongside this brief reunion, which ends when Lola says she must return to her son Benoit in France.

Narrative Significance

The university functions as a marker of Amalfitano’s working life in Spain and of the ordinary schedule surrounding the family’s reunion. The narrative does not describe its campus, administration, or broader academic role; its significance here is relational and situational, locating Amalfitano’s work near the home where Lola and Rosa meet again.