In the Midst of Winter

At the conclusion of the novel, Lucia justifies the intervention in Evelyn’s life and Kathryn’s murder as a means of pursuing “natural justice” (339). For Lucia, formal systems of justice have always had their limits. As a political exile from Chile during its dictatorship, she has learned that the law is often biased and is activated by the ruling parties of the time. Even after her return to Chile once a more liberal government has been installed, she is still unable to find justice for her disappeared brother. This suspicion of formal systems of justice and reliance on an internal compass of morality informs her decision to protect Evelyn when she arrives at Richard’s door.

Evelyn has known the limits of justice as well from her suffering in Guatemala. As gang violence is so pervasive and the government unable to seriously stop the rising influence of crime, Evelyn’s brothers’ deaths and her own rape never receive justice. The unfairness does not stop once Evelyn leaves Guatemala and enters the U.S.. After an incident with her stepsister exposes Evelyn’s undocumented status, she is forced to eventually go to trial to fight for her U.S. residency. However, the advice of one immigration official confirms the unreliability of U.S. law to protect those who come to the U.S. to escape violence in their own country. In his instructions to Evelyn about going to court, he relays that “asylum or deportation will depend on which judge you get” (225). There is no assurance in the law to protect the marginalized, and the enactment of formal systems of justice are proven capricious. As Evelyn’s mother affirms, even “if the law does get there, it never favors the weakest” (226). This harsh reality leads to the decision to send Evelyn away so that her undocumented status cannot be exposed once more. Living “below the law” in this sense is safer than living above it. Indeed, Richard, who as a white male possesses the most cultural capital in the context of the three main characters, in his past has only used that capital to ruin others (his wife and child). Meanwhile, Lucia and Evelyn have been buffeted about on the winds of fate decided by the hands of those who, by and large, look like Richard.

As Lucia and Evelyn both personally experience the limitations of formal systems of justice, the decision to go on a road trip to bury a dead woman becomes a way of exercising a form of natural justice that the U.S. court system cannot assure. By taking matters into their own hands, they can ensure Evelyn’s safety, justice for Kathryn’s death, and punishment of Mr. Leroy for his violence towards others.

Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s immigration stories each relay the complicated political and economic relations between their countries of origin and the U.S.. Their stories portray the theory of push-pull, which proposes that there is a correlation between the political and economic bond of two countries and the migration of people to the country with most resources. At the center of Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s stories is how each have found their way to the U.S. through the political and economic relations between the originating country and the U.S.. Yet, Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s budding friendship demonstrate an alternative sense of power through interdependency that challenges these global systems of conduct.

The three main characters occupy three different paths through the immigration system. Richard’s entry into the U.S. for an academic post is one of privilege through the assistance of a friend in academia and his educational pedigree. Lucia was a political exile from Chile during the years of dictatorship, forcing her to earn a living outside of her home country. However, she acknowledges her own middle-class privilege when refugee committees offer her support: she feel undeserving of the refugee committees’ assistance: “There were other refugees in far more pressing situations” (104). Despite her early struggles, Lucia still manages to return to Chile and rebuild her career, allowing her to become a respected scholar traveling to the U.S.. Meanwhile, Evelyn suffers the most as a Central American who has no choice but to migrate to pursue additional income for her poor family back in Guatemala as well as to escape gang violence.

As different political and economic factors bring Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn to the U.S., so do the different powers and privileges they each embody. Yet the development of their friendship reveals an intimate sense of interdependency based upon trust and mutual support. Recognizing that Evelyn is the “weakest link in the chain” (115) among them due to her undocumented status, Lucia and Richard work to use their power and privilege to take on more risk along their journey in order to protect her. This form of interdependency is different from the political and economic power that the U.S. possesses over other countries as it is based upon conceding or negotiation of power to build more empathetic relationships among people.