Dona Aurora

Dona Aurora, the caretaker at the old Fortuny residence, helps Daniel Sempere piece together Julián Carax’s past. Her memories are incomplete and sometimes secondhand, but they connect Carax to the Aldaya family and lead Daniel to a letter that had been kept in the house for years.

The Caretaker and Her Recollections

When Daniel asks about Carax’s origins, Dona Aurora relays a story passed to her by Vicenteta, a former neighbor. According to that account, Carax may not have been the hatter’s son: the Frenchwoman had allegedly told Vicenteta that the boy was not Fortuny’s. Dona Aurora makes clear that she cannot vouch for the claim or for the woman’s reason for making it. The uncertain, relayed nature of the story leaves Carax’s parentage as a rumor rather than an established fact.

Her recollections of Carax’s school years are similarly selective. He had a friend from the prominent Aldaya family, whose wealth was so conspicuous that a chauffeur-driven car came to collect him. She also remembers another classmate named Miquel, but cannot supply his surname or describe him. In later years, she says, Carax was hardly ever at the residence. These details offer Daniel a few social connections while underscoring how little the caretaker knows directly.

The Abandoned Residence

Dona Aurora accompanies Daniel into the neglected apartment. The door opens onto a dark, airless interior, where grime hangs from the ceiling, the floor is covered in what appears to be ash, and footprints seem to lead inside. The ruined condition of the home makes its silence part of the investigation: the place has preserved traces, but not a clear account of the people who once lived there.

The Letter Kept in the Hall

Dona Aurora remembers that after Carax left for Paris, a letter arrived for him and his father ordered her to throw it away. Rather than discard it, she placed it in the entrance-hall cabinet in case the Frenchwoman returned. Daniel later finds the ochre envelope there, among stopped watches, buttons, and obsolete coins. Its postmark reads 18 October 1919, and its return address is Penelope Aldaya’s address on Avenida del Tibidabo in Barcelona. The surviving letter turns the caretaker’s act of preservation into a crucial lead for Daniel, linking the old residence to Penelope and the history he is trying to uncover.

Narrative Role

Dona Aurora’s importance lies less in a complete account than in the fragments she can pass on and the object she chose not to destroy. Her hearsay about Carax’s parentage remains uncertain; her memories identify the Aldayas and Miquel as figures from his school years; and the saved envelope gives Daniel a concrete document to examine. Through her, the abandoned house becomes both a repository of disputed memories and a source of evidence.