Alex Brown

Alex Brown’s courtship and marriage to Esperanza become the means by which she can leave behind the future Rosaura had reserved for her: lifelong care of her mother. A medical student when he and Esperanza meet again, Alex becomes her partner in a marriage that ends with their departure for Harvard University.

Identity and Background

Alex is the son of John Brown. When he sees Esperanza again, he is finishing medical school; later, he receives a grant to pursue a doctorate at Harvard University. The account gives little detail about his life beyond his education and his relationship with Esperanza, but that relationship places him at the center of a conflict over what her future is allowed to be.

Courtship and Conflict

Alex sees Esperanza again at a party at the school she attends, after many years apart. They are attracted to each other immediately. Esperanza confides in Tita about the strength of her response to Alex, and Tita recognizes their bond as lasting. Tita is the first person Esperanza tells that Alex is courting her.

Rosaura is firmly opposed to the courtship. She regards Esperanza as the daughter who must remain with her and care for her until the end of her life, in keeping with the family tradition. Tita and Pedro support Esperanza’s relationship with Alex, and Rosaura treats their support as a betrayal of the agreement they had made with her. The dispute grows into an intense household conflict. Rosaura had also resisted Esperanza’s schooling, arguing that her daughter did not need it if her future was already fixed; Tita and Pedro eventually persuade her to send Esperanza to school. Alex’s appearance as a suitor brings the older struggle over Esperanza’s independence to a head.

Marriage and Departure

Alex and Esperanza personally prepare their wedding invitations. Their care extends to the traditional materials: paper, black ink, gold-tinted envelope edges, and sealing wax. The black ink is left over from the wedding of Pedro and Rosaura; although it has dried, it can be made usable again by adding water. Their preparation places the couple’s wedding within the family’s inherited practices even as the marriage carries Esperanza beyond the role Rosaura had chosen for her.

The wedding takes place after Rosaura’s death. Tita takes pride in seeing Esperanza confident, capable, and happy in her wedding gown. Esperanza and Alex waltz to The Eyes of Youth. At the celebration, it is announced that Alex has won a grant for doctoral study at Harvard University and that the newlyweds will leave that same day. Their departure makes the marriage a decisive change in Esperanza’s life, not simply a resolution of the courtship.

Narrative Role

Alex’s importance rests chiefly in the future his relationship with Esperanza makes possible. Rosaura’s expectation would keep her daughter in the household as her lifelong caregiver; Esperanza’s choice to marry Alex, supported by Tita and Pedro, carries her away from that imposed duty. Their move to Harvard gives this change a concrete destination. For Tita, who helped Esperanza learn both at school and in the kitchen, the wedding is a triumph, but the couple’s immediate departure also means Esperanza will no longer be at home.