Dreaming in Cuban

Celia’s drop pearl earrings are a gift from her Spanish lover, Gustavo. They are a symbol of her unrequited love and of her unwillingness to let go of Gustavo’s memory. Cristina García establishes the symbolic importance of the earrings in the very first lines of the novel, for Celia sits on her wicker swing, wearing the drop pearl earrings, and watches the coastline for evidence of advancing American ships or airplanes. This is only the first of many such descriptions of Celia, and multiple characters observe her wearing them. They are featured in one of Pilar’s first memories of her early life in Cuba, and Celia wears the earrings when Pilar and Lourdes return many years later. Celia’s inability to completely move on from her ill-fated relationship with Gustavo has a ripple effect on her marriage and her parenting, and therefore the earrings also speak to the theme of Fraught Family Bonds. Celia does agree to marry Jorge, but her love for him never equals her lingering love for Gustavo. It is at the root of her mental health condition, and it is part of the reason for Jorge’s decision to commit her to a psychiatric institution.