The mount of the souls

The mount of the souls is one of the stories that are part of Soria, a collection of the Spanish author Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. This Gothic horror legend was published on November 7, 1861 in the newspaper The contemporary along with sixteen other stories. The work is divided into a short introduction, three parts and an epilogue where the narrator adds new details to the story.

It tells of the misadventures of Alonso, a young hunter with an innocent attitude which is convinced easily by his cousin Beatriz to go to the Mount of Souls right during the night of the Day of the Dead. Precisely the least suitable place to visit in the middle of the All Saints festivities.

About the Author

Baptized under the name of Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida, born on February 17, 1836 in Seville, Spain. His father, Don José Domínguez Bécquer, and his brothers were renowned painters. In the Andalusian capital he spent his childhood and adolescence; there he studied humanities and painting. He was left under the tutelage of his uncle, Joaquín Domínguez Bécquer, after being orphaned at the age of eleven.

First jobs

Before becoming a man of letters, he moved to Madrid in 1854, where he worked as a journalist and adapting foreign plays. In 1958, during a stay in his hometown, he became seriously ill and had to spend 9 months in bed due to a serious illness. To date, historians do not agree on the nature of the disease (between tuberculosis and syphilis).

His brother Valeriano took care of him and helped him publish his first legend: The chieftain with the red hands. During that time he also met Julia Espín, designated by many academics as the muse of his Rimas. Others thought that it was Elisa Guillén who inspired him. In 1861 he married Casta Esteban, daughter of a doctor. Although it was not a happy marriage, they had three children.

Between Legends y Rimas

The first half of the 1860s was its most productive period in literary terms for Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. Not for nothing did he write most of his Legends during this period. Likewise, he worked in the elaboration of journalistic chronicles and began his manuscript of Rimas. In 1866 he became an official censor of novels, thus, he was able to concentrate more on his own lyrics.

The revolution of 1868 caused him to lose his job and his wife left him.. Consequently, he moved to Toledo with his brother and then to the Spanish capital. There he directed the magazine The Madrid Enlightenment (his brother worked as an illustrator). Valeriano's death in September 1870 plunged him into a deep depression. Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer passed away three months later.

Legacy

Gustavo Adolfo Becquer he is - along with Rosalía de Castro - considered the greatest representative of post-romantic lyric. A poetic subgenre distinguished by its intimate approach and expressive nature of less ornate rhetoric than romanticism. In addition, Bécquer influenced later great artists, such as Rubén Darío, Antonio Machado and Juan Ramón Jiménez, among others.

The mount of the souls in itself it is a work with a particular legacy. He has appeared in different musical themes and operas by artists such as Rodríguez Losada, the minstrel metal band "Saurom" and the group of the 80s, Gabinete Caligari. Currently, there is a tourist route in Soria inspired by the legend of Bécquer.

Analysis of El Monte de las Ánimas

Characters

Alonso

He is the naive cousin of Beatriz. Denotes his innocent character after being easily persuaded by it to go look for a blue ribbon in the Monte de las Ánimas. The problem is that it was right on the night of All Saints, when more spirits roam the place.

The hunter and heir to the castles Alcudiel was a true dupe in risking his hide in this way. Even more so, being so knowledgeable about the stories related to the spirits of the Templars who died in their war with the hidalgos. Alonso ends up contravening their own beliefs in order to please the person they love.

Beatriz

Young man of irresistible beauty, but with a cold and calculating demeanor. The daughter of the counts of Borges showed her selfishness when she asked her cousin Alonso to go to Monte de las Ánimas to recover a lost garment. He did not care in the least about the circumstances of the night or the danger his family member ran there.

Beatriz is the embodiment of pure narcissism. A woman with an excessive ego and capricious behavior, endowed with a lethal intelligence that managed to challenge Alonso. To such an extent that his cousin could not counteract the request to go find a garment on such a dangerous night.

Secondary characters

• The Counts of Alcudiel, parents of Alonso.
• The Counts of Borges, Beatriz's parents.
• The squires, hunters and servants of the palace.
• The assistants to the palace of the Counts of Alcudiel during the night of All Saints.

Legend Summary

Alonso was well acquainted with the legend of Monte de las Ánimas. In the middle of a hunting day with the children and pages of Los Condes de Borges and Alcudiel, he told them stories about the Templars who ruled the mountain. They were warriors and religious who died there at the hands of the soldiers of the King of Castile when the monarch decided to expel the Arabs from the city of Soria.

According to the myth, the spirits of the Templars buried in the place went out to guard the mountain together with the animals during the night of All Saints. For this reason, no sane person ventured near that mountain during those festivities.

The challenge

During dinner at the palace of the Counts of Alcudiel, Alonso and Beatriz stayed talking by the fireplace. He tells his cousin that he will soon be leaving there and wishes to give her a jewel as a souvenir. She accepts the gift, despite her initial reluctance. But Alonso wants to take a souvenir from his cousin too.

Beatriz tells him that she will give him a blue ribbon. However, the garment is lost in the Monte de las Ánimas. Then, she uses her irony to question Alonso's bravery and acts indifferent. In consecuense, he decides prove yourself by going to retrieve your cousin's bond… All in order to make her happy.

Tape

Beatriz had a hard time falling asleep that night. At first he thought that he had exaggerated by being scared and praying repeatedly for the nightmares he had suffered. But a disturbing object rests on a table in her room: a bloody blue ribbon. When the Borges' servant goes to give him the news of Alonso's death because of the wolves, Beatriz is found dead.

Epílogo

Some time after what happened, a hunter was one night in the Monte de las Ánimas. Before dying, the man claimed to have seen the skeletons of the Templars come out and of the noble Sorians buried there. In addition, he sighted the figure of a beautiful disheveled woman with bloody feet, walking around Alonso's grave.