The Doors Open at Three G Cabrera Infante

 The Doors Open at Three G Cabrera Infante

    The Doors Open at Three follows an odd love story set in a funeral home. The setting of a funeral home by itself brings up all sorts of questions and implications. Dealing with death as regularly as people in funeral homes definitely takes a toll on the staff working there, there are those that are forced to work there and those that want to work there. Regardless of the type of person, you see the world differently in working in that type of environment. Silvestre and Virginia clearly have chemistry and a desire to be together that is just not possible because of their class differences. "The idea of loneliness horrified me more than loneliness itself, but I knew it was inevitable", there's a certain relatable painful reality to this line. Silvestre understood that things probably wouldn't work with Virignia as they were in such different social classes but still held onto hope that drove him through the day anyway. Despite understanding that things will likely not work you still hold on to some glimmer of hope and when that piece of hope that you know is going to die out dies out you're left with a feeling of loneliness. You don't know what to do anymore when you realize things are over with someone you have this overarching feeling of "how do I come back from this?" 

    The story hints at the economic and life differences being the major factor in why the relationship with Silvestre and Virginia didn't work but I wonder if there was more to it than that. Often times a relationship will also not work because it's not the right time in that person's life. I think it's definitely possible as well that things didn't work simply because Virginia didn't want things to work, she didn't want to go through the process of trying to make things work knowing it could potentially end it heartbreak. It's possible Virginia was just a flirt too and wasn't looking for a relationship at that point in her life. It's hard to tell why it didn't work exactly but I can barely imagine how hard that would've been to deal with with funerals and dead bodies as the backdrop. That just sounds like a depressing existence to me, I think Silvestre is very elligible to find a new girl somewhere down the line but for the near term he is well enough alone. 

Comments

  1. Stephanie StollOctober 1, 2020 at 2:44 PM

    The analysis of the setting being a funeral home shows its importance to the story and the sadness of this tragedy. The love between Silvestre and Virginia seems mutual and evident from the start, therefore I did not see it ending how it did. However the point you made that the relationship might not have worked because Virginia was not willing makes a lot of sense. I think it is important for both people in a relationship to be committed to making something work despite their circumstance, however Virginia was not which was most likely why it did not work out. The occupations of both characters relating to death definitely foreshadowed the end of the story, which made this read intriguing.

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  2. Tommy TimeOctober 4, 2020 at 6:00 PM

    The doors open at three is a very interesting short story to see the least. To begin with the peculiar setting of a funeral home does not seem to be the most ideal place to depict a love story, however the importance of the funeral home shows the sadness of this story. Collin the quote on the idea of loneliness is very interesting “the idea of loneliness horrified me more than loneliness itself but, I knew it was inevitable.” I found this to be an interesting quote for a love story. Excellent point silvestre did realize that their relationship would most likely not even work out. I enjoyed reading your blog great job, keep it up!

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  3. Mary PurcellOctober 4, 2020 at 6:52 PM

    The story had an interesting balance of predictability and change. Silvestre's job means that much of what he does is typical and routine, dark and lifeless. He seems so detached from everything, including the strength of emotion that others feel, like is seen in the opening scenes at the funeral. The story implies that he's not capable of loving Virginia like she wants because he can't separate his work from his life.

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  4. Ian MillerOctober 5, 2020 at 7:22 AM

    I found this story to be incredibly tragic, but very fitting with the stories that we have read so far. The idea that wealth is keeping the two lovers apart is true to where the story is taking place, because the disparity in wealth in the Caribbean is very large and it is the cause of many hardships. It also has a very strong connection to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", because two star crossed lovers cannot be together, and ultimately, the ending is tragic.

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