Plaza of the Virgin of the Kings is the setting for a charged nighttime encounter between Lorenzo Quart and Macarena Bruner. Beneath the illuminated cathedral and its towering Giralda, the square’s ancient reality seems almost theatrical; against that extraordinary backdrop, the two look at one another with an attention that unsettles Quart’s clerical self-command.

Setting and Appearance

The cathedral’s floodlights make an unreal space between night and illumination. Disoriented by the contrast, pigeons wheel into view and vanish again in the darkness, among the cathedral’s mass of domes, pinnacles, and flying buttresses, with the Giralda presiding above them. To Quart, the scene resembles an old Hollywood spectacular built from painted cloth and papier-mâché, yet the comparison only emphasizes what a studio could not reproduce: the square is genuine, formed from brick and centuries of history, with its oldest part dating to the twelfth century.

The square’s effect is both architectural and theatrical. Quart sees it as a unique, unrepeatable setting, and Macarena pauses beneath the huge central lamppost, still against the golden stone and the floodlights. Her dark hair is tied back, a necklace of ivory rests against her brown skin, and she meets his gaze. The grandeur does not displace the people within it; instead, the scene presents the city and Macarena as mutually intensifying presences.

The Night Walk

The pair reach the square on foot after Quart has left Father Ferro at the observatory and taken his leave of the Duchess of the New Extremity. The older woman has welcomed him back and given him a small tile from the old decoration of her house: a bird made by Mudéjar craftsmen, which fell from the wall during the bombardments of 1843 and lay among broken and defective pieces in a basement for a century and a half. Quart carries it in his pocket when Macarena catches him by the entrance gate and suggests a walk before they find something to eat in the taverns of Santa Cruz.

Their approach to the square has been almost silent, but the exchange that precedes the walk is light and intimate. Macarena makes a teasing reference to whether Quart has some other commitment, such as a bishop; he laughs while buttoning his jacket. She looks at his hands, then his mouth, then his hands again, and joins his laughter. At the square, the cathedral, the revolving pigeons, and the stillness of Macarena turn their mutual attention into the scene’s quiet center.

Narrative Significance

For Quart, the square’s beauty is inseparable from the attraction he feels there. He recognizes that Macarena’s presence intensifies the place’s fascination, but his lucid awareness does not restore his composure: the scene conflicts with the spiritual tranquillity that sacred ordinances recommend for a priest’s salvation. The location thus holds together two kinds of grandeur—the historical and architectural spectacle of Seville, and the personal desire that makes Quart’s priestly discipline newly difficult.