The nature of trauma and the consequences of trauma constitute an important theme that runs from the beginning to the end of the novel. Petrona and Chula experience trauma that robs them of their ability to express themselves verbally. When Petrona first appears at the beginning of the novel, her extreme economy of speech is noticeable. Chula’s habit of counting the syllables that Petrona utters highlights the significance of Petrona’s taciturn nature. Though Chula cannot understand the specific reasons for Petrona’s silence at this point, she intuits that the silence is troubling.

When Chula experiences trauma, she comes to understand why Petrona avoids speech. Eventually, Chula finds herself responding to trauma with silence. During the Santiagos’ sojourn in El Salado, Abuela survives the near-death experience of getting caught in guerrilla crossfire; later, Chula witnesses the silencing power of trauma take hold in Abuela, who also falls silent after the violent incident. Around the same time, Chula deliberately elects to restrict her own expression in order to avoid being sent to a psychologist because her parents fear she is traumatized.

By the end of the novel, Chula’s voluntary muteness becomes involuntary. After the attempted kidnapping of Chula and

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