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Lucero and Aurora from "Aurora"

On Wednesday this week we discussed "Aurora" and whether or not we can call it a love story. Lucero and Aurora have a complicated, troublesome, unhealthy ... (insert negative adjective) relationship, making it hard to call "Aurora" anything other than an account of two young adults in a peculiar and unfortunate situation. Despite this, Lucero claims that they are in love, which as a reader sounds like bullshit, as Cut would say. Whether Lucero and Aurora are in love or not, they're in a relationship. A relationship where, I believe, Lucero thinks about and needs Aurora more than she thinks about or needs him. 

They both physically attack each other, with Lucero doing the most damage between the two. However he seems to be the one who's continually chasing after her, looking for her, looking out for her, and thinking about her. This is not uncommon with relationships involving domestic abuse, and Lucero seems to fit perfectly into the role of a man who feels very strongly about his partner and shows compassion at times, but is possessive and violent as well. The first example I think of is when Aurora comes over to his place at midnight because she "want(s) some company". Although he feels disrespected by her when she fails to tell him where she's been, he makes a conscious decision to kiss her hand rather than to confront her. Another example that shows his compassion (and obsession) is when he's describing his searches for Aurora at the Hacienda. He describes walking from door to door, feeling around in the darkness "wishing that maybe just this once I'll feel her soft face on the other side of my fingers". At the same time, however, there is a constant thread of his violence toward Aurora that runs throughout the story. More disturbing than his actions is how casually he mentions them, as if there is nothing to be ashamed of. Someone spoke to this point on Wednesday and alluded to this quote, "She once tried to jam a pen in my thigh, but that was the night I punched her chest black-and-blue so I don't think that counts".  

Although Lucero has the characteristics of a push-and-pull domestic abuser, he isn't the only abuser in this relationship. Aurora gets her fair share of physical violence in as well - that last quote did mention that she tried to stab Lucero with a pen. The section entitled "One of Our Nights" starts by describing some of the things she does to Lucero, like breaking everything he owns, yelling at him "like it might change something", and attempting to slam doors on his fingers. She has her own manipulative, misleadingly compassionate side too - the next line reads, "She wants me to promise her a love that's never been seen anywhere". Throughout the story, Lucero makes references to other bruises and marks that came from her violence, including scars that are a result of her scratching Lucero with her fingernails. But he also mentions her dreams of having a perfect relationship. 

I can't say that I fully trust Lucero as a narrator, however, and while I feel comfortable drawing conclusions about his character from his narration, I don't think it's fair to Aurora to judge her in the same way while only having Lucero's perspective to draw from. That being said, what I think is fair to draw from Lucero's narration is that Aurora does not need or rely on Lucero. 

There are numerous examples of Aurora not reciprocating the affection Lucero shows her. For example, when she visits him for the first time in weeks, he mentions how when he kissed her, she "keeps them closed, first-date style". Later on we find out "she's living out of her bag", and that she's not concerned with sticking around for him. She says, "You know me. Yo ando mas que un perro." when Lucero asks where she's been, saying (I'm assuming) that she's more like a runaway/stray dog than anything else. Even later this section, we're told that in the morning she's searched his pockets and taken off without telling him. Lucero also tells us that they only see each other twice a month (at best), and that since she went to juvie, they haven't been as close. Even the letters she sent from Juvie were deemed "bullshit" by Lucero. And there's reason to doubt that Lucero is the only one Aurora is involved with. There's one scene that seems to depict Cut and Aurora having sex (although that may have been an intoxicated dream), and the information that Aurora hangs out with a guy named Harry at an apartment filled with crackheads. In the moments where it appears that Aurora does want Lucero, it's because she needs company, either because she's on her way to the Hacienda, because she needs drugs, or because she needs some form of affection. 

Ultimately, I got the sense that Aurora is doing fine on her own and that Lucero serves a specific purpose in her life, which is to fill the romantic gaps that appear every so often. It could even be said that she's using him, in a way. Whether that's the case or not, I don't blame her. Lucero certainly doesn't seem worth her time, and it's not as if he hasn't had his own misgivings about their partnership. 

Last thought: I think I've changed my mind. "Aurora" isn't a love story. 


Comments

  1. MichelleApril 27, 2018 at 3:24 AM

    Interesting post! I would definitely agree that "Aurora" isn't a love story. The relationship that Lucero and Aurora share seems toxic and mostly physical like you said, but it's something they're familiar with. It seems like Lucero thinks he's in love with Aurora, but as we mentioned in class, it's more like he's addicted to Aurora. He can't help but succumb back to her.

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  2. K. WilliamsApril 28, 2018 at 9:06 AM

    Nice post. I think I've reached a point where I think "Aurora" is a love story in the way that any fictional love story fits the genre, because Nicholas Sparks made an entire career out of abusive/unhealthy relationships. As fiction, I think it is a love story, but from a realistic perspective, it's definitely not. I think something to consider is Lucero and Aurora's expectations of the rest of their lives. Based on what we know of their upbringings, it's unlikely either of them have ever had healthy relationships or even seen them. While we as readers don't see their relationship as loving or healthy, I feel like their mess is what they are most comfortable with. While that obviously doesn't make any of it okay, I think it changes the perspective a bit.

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  3. MayaApril 28, 2018 at 7:14 PM

    I think this is really interesting. I think it's clear from the beginning that this is a horribly unhealthy relationship and I agree that it's not a love story. But I do think that Lucero and Aurora do want to be like normal people together which makes me unsure of their actual feelings for each other. They're definitely not in love because people who love each other don't want to physically hurt each other, but somewhere in me Lucero has convinced me that they both do care.

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