Adrián Neri

Adrián Neri is a young composer hired to teach Clara Barceló and improve her playing. His musical promise and standing with Clara’s uncle give him access to her household, while his presence becomes a focus of Daniel Sempere’s jealousy and hostility. When Daniel is pressed to identify who has a book, he names Neri as its supposed holder, drawing the musician into a danger that Daniel is trying to deflect.

Identity and Introduction

Clara presents Neri as a composer who has studied in Paris and Vienna and is preparing a symphony for a premiere with the Barcelona City Orchestra. She describes him as exceptionally gifted and says that her uncle has hired him to teach her. Daniel responds with a joke about whether Clara means Neri or his uncle is the genius; Clara tells him not to be wicked and predicts that he will fall for Neri.

Daniel’s reaction to the name is colored by an earlier association: the only Mompou he knows is a gaunt schoolteacher who taught physics and chemistry. This makes the reference to a composer seem grotesque and improbable to him, underlining the distance between Clara’s musical world and his own.

Place in Clara’s Household

In the months before Daniel’s sixteenth birthday, his friendship with Clara changes. He scarcely reads to her anymore, and she avoids being alone with him. Visits to her apartment are watched over by her uncle or Bernarda, or accompanied by Clara’s friends, whom Daniel privately calls the Sisterly Brigade. Their presence makes him feel unwelcome and signals that Clara’s relationship with him is being kept within strict boundaries.

Neri’s regular visits sharpen that exclusion. He arrives with musical scores and an arrogant manner, and Daniel sees him as a smooth-talking, wealthy young man from the socially privileged San Gervasio district. Daniel also resents the attention Neri receives from Clara’s uncle and his flirtation with Bernarda, whom he amuses with sugared almonds. Daniel and Neri dislike each other: Neri treats Daniel as an unwelcome presence and objects to his being there, while Daniel admits that he hates him.

The Book and Daniel’s Lie

When a threatening stranger insists on finding a book, Daniel tries to protect Clara by saying that she does not have it and warning the stranger not to touch her. He then claims that Neri has the book. The claim is a lie made because Daniel cannot think of a better answer; the stranger questions whether Neri exists at all, and Daniel replies that he wishes he had invented him.

The lie makes Neri part of a danger he does not know about. It also reveals how thoroughly Daniel’s resentment has shaped his response: rather than offer a reliable lead, he uses the name of the rival who has come to occupy his place in Clara’s life.

Discovery and Conflict

On the night Daniel discovers Clara with Neri, he opens the bedroom door and sees them together. Clara appears absorbed in the encounter and does not initially understand why Neri stops when he notices Daniel. Neri tells her he will be right back, then turns his attention to Daniel.

Neri’s response is immediate and hostile. He grabs Daniel and drags him out of the bedroom and through the conservatory. The confrontation turns the rivalry that had played out through guarded visits, social exclusion, and Daniel’s private contempt into a direct physical conflict. Neri’s subsequent fate is not established in the supplied evidence.