The Fountains of Silence: A Novel

Ana is the second protagonist of the novel. She desires all the things any young person wants: love, a career, the freedom to make her own decisions. Ana, however, lives in Franco’s Spain. She cannot have any of these freedoms. In Spain, she is expected to be silent and submissive, and to support the state by producing babies.

Unlike her American love interest, Daniel, who does not yet understand the necessity of silence, Ana is cautious. As they spend more time together, Ana begins to take risks in the interest of love. When she loses her job and Rafa is arrested, she truly understands the limits on her freedom. She accepts the silence imposed on her, at least until Franco’s death, and sends Daniel away.

One of the threatening notes Ana received in 1957 refers to her as a “little mouse” (301). Presumably, it’s directed not at her looks—she is beautiful—but at her “quiet as a mouse” demeanor. When Daniel reunites with Ana after Franco’s death, he sees what he knew—kindness, humor, warmth—and also an openness and freedom of expression: She is cheerful and affectionate, with a huge smile and a loud laugh. The real Ana is the one that runs into Daniel’s arms, who weeps and laughs and loves publicly, without shame or fear.

Rafa is Ana’s older brother, and he is haunted by his experiences after the war. He feels controlled by fear, and he does everything he can to force himself to face this fear.

Rafa hid in the bushes the day his father was killed and considers himself a coward for not coming to his father’s defense. After Fuga’s death, however, Rafa finally realizes that he was not afraid of death, but of being afraid. Rafa is caught in circumstances beyond his control and punished for crimes he didn’t commit. Fuga’s death is tragic, but it shows Rafa who he really is.

In the first section of the book, Rafa represents the Spain that puts on a brave face, and refuses to reveal the torment that it suffers. He hides his “painful memories” and “collapsed heart beneath a smile” (2) much as his clothes hide the “lashing scars on his back […] like veins above the skin” (285). After Fuga’s death, however, Rafa becomes a different version of Spain: the one that works quietly but wholeheartedly for the time when Franco is gone.

Julia is Ana and Rafa’s eldest sister. She has taken on the burden of caring for her siblings after the death of their parents. Unlike Rafa, Julia cannot muster a cheerful smile to hide her anxiety. Indeed, she keeps her memories in “a category of unspeakable things, a dark drawer where inexpressible truths live in exile” (169).

Julia’s sole focus is on survival, which requires, more than anything, money. This often makes her seem cold or hardhearted, particularly in comparison to Ana and Rafa, although this is not the case. The extent of Julia’s suffering is unknown until the second half of the book, when she reveals that the government stole one of her children. Her pain was literally inexpressible, and in this, she represents the Spain that soldiered on, that kept moving, worrying not about truth or justice, but about food and shelter.

After Franco’s death, Julia manages to come out of this survival mode somewhat, although she still focuses on the personal. She dismisses Daniel’s suggestion that once Spain moves fully into democracy, “the adoptions will be acknowledged in some way” (456). Julia thus represents those who silently agreed to the Pact of Forgetting. 

Puri is the cousin of Rafa, Ana, and Julia. In the first section of the book, Puri is innocent and naïve. Born after the Spanish Civil War, she has no memories of its immediate aftermath and knows only what she’s been taught in school and by the nuns. A devout Catholic, she believes in Franco’s vision for Spain. She works at the Inclusa, a Catholic orphanage, where she is recognized for her care and compassion toward the children.

Like Daniel, Puri also comes of age in the novel. Betrayed by the system she so admired, she feels bitter and angry, as is evident in her rebuke to Daniel, who has assumed she is content in her role. By forcing Puri into a convent after she uncovered her own adoption and discovered the kidnapping of the lost children, Sister Hortensia forced Puri to be complicit in the very practices she found sinful.

Puri represents the Spain that did shameful things to survive in a corrupt system—the Spain that is afraid of being judged, and thus remains silent. The real Puri is still there inside this bitter woman, hiding behind the same fascist doublespeak that once made her question her own sanity. A glimpse of this Puri emerges when she tells Daniel to speak the truth. In a sense, Puri also represents the potential Spain, the one that could exist if the secrets are told, and the silence is broken.

Fuga is Rafa’s best friend, with whom he has a bond “of hardship” forged in the “hellhole,” the “slaughterhouse of souls” that was the boys’ home (29). Fuga helped Rafa survive, both physically and emotionally, so the memories of that place do not consume him. Ever El Huérfano, Fuga remains committed to helping the children of Spain, not only disadvantaged children like himself but also the lost children of Franco who were stolen from their families.

Constantly angry, Fuga seems almost like one of the bulls he desires to bring to heel: “His mane of black hair, wild and unkempt, cannot conceal his feral eyes. Those who pass him look twice. They not only see him, they feel him. He is a gathering storm” (29). The only place he shows any sort of grace is in the bullring, where he easily conquers any of the animals brought to face him.

Fuga represents Spain before the Civil War, and what Spain could have been had Franco and the fascists not gained control. This Spain is dead; only traces remain, of which bullfighting is a remnant. Like Daniel, Fuga is a hero. He refuses to compromise his principles, even as a child, and dies protecting the only one he really loves, Rafa. But Fuga’s death represents the death of this traditional Spain that Franco and his minions worked hard to stamp out.

Nick, son of Shep Van Dorn, is a trickster character who brings chaos and confusion to any situation. Nick is not a bad person, but he has been damaged by his father’s licentiousness. He takes out his anger and frustration at Shep on himself, drinking to excess and engaging in foolhardy and dangerous behavior. Despite this, he is a good friend to both Ana and Daniel.

The father of Nick, Shep is, like his name implies, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. At first, Shep seems decent, genuinely kind, and helpful. He makes only one blunder when he refers to Ana the night of the fashion show as “just a maid.” Later, the narrative reveals that Ana used to work for Shep, and when he propositioned her, she refused him—a slight he hasn’t forgotten. Like many who are rich and powerful, Shep seems to see no consequences for his actions. Nick subconsciously punishes himself for his father’s cruelty and perversion.