1. The protagonists relation

[Manuel]

Your comments about the development of the relation between Gonzalo and Vicky.

It is no mystery that they are falling in love. A young reader told me that their relation was atypical, that young people fall in love today in a different way. This may or not be true, but I think it was emphatically not true in 1975. What do you think about it?

Any other comments?

[Madeleine]

From Manuel: "Your comments about the development of the relation between Gonzalo and Vicky.

It is no mystery that they are falling in love. A young reader told me that their relation was atypical, that young people fall in love today in a different way. This may or not be true, but I think it was emphatically not true in 1975. What do you think about it?"

I grew up in the years before the "sexual revolution" broke out. Until or unless we went away to college or left home after high school, we Catholic kids were pretty much sheltered compared to kids today. We had a boys' high school and a girls' school, run by priests and nuns, and we did have social events together. But my parents had a lot to say about the boys I dated and I had a strict curfew. So their budding relationship isn't that strange to me. We had a lot of lectures about purity, even my first year at the Catholic college where my husband and I met.

[Fonch]

Madeleine wrote: "From Manuel: "Your comments about the development of the relation between Gonzalo and Vicky.

It is no mystery that they are falling in love. A young reader told me that their relation was atypical..."
Well the situation of Spain, although i was born seven years later of the Franco`s death is that the catholic religion care during the Franco`s dictatorhip, however the relationship between Franco and Paul VI was not good, despite the catholicism, because Paul VI desired a democratic goverment for Spain, and he did no tget on with Franco. In the 60 began the the economic increasement and Spain opened to the foreign countries with this come into overall in the left wing the presence of may 68, and the changes of Vatican II although slowly. With all the young priests were not in favor with Franco, and there were problems with the priests of Catalonia, and Basque Country for the nationalist question.
When Franco died the transition will open to Europe and they were excesively good with the left wing and the nationalism of Basque Country, and Catalonia to get a democracy, and we yielded a lot. These changes produced the change in the moral in 1981 Spain legalized the divorce with UCD, and in 1985 PSOE aproved the abortion in three cases, of course the anticonception increased afterwards the Franco`s death, and the change in the relationship between men and women. The goverments favoreced the divorce, with TV series for example the golden rings, and the divorce was considered progresist, this thing produced the discrease of the birth tax. Vicki, and Gnozalo trys to keep those style of life against those kind of changes. Because there were couples that reject this songs of mermaid and they did not fall in the temptation of the modern world.

[Lisa]

Manuel Alfonseca, I have a question for you in this regard. First, let me say that I loved the courtliness of the the relationship between the two young sweethearts, something that has been lost in the modern world, to our detriment.

I was intrigued to see that you had set the story precisely at the time of Franco's death -- a choice I've been wondering about. I lived in Madrid for a year (1978-79), in that odd interim between the death of Franco and the first post-Franco government (they were writing the new constitution the year I was there), so I have some idea of what a sea-change Spanish society went through in a very short time -- I remember Spanish acquaintances at the time saying "We want to be modern!" (by which many of them meant "we want to be secular and socialist") and I thought, "Whatever you may gain by becoming 'modern,' you have no idea how much you will lose in the bargain."

One of the things that was lost was the kind of innocence and capacity for fidelity that you depict in the relationship between Gonzalo and Vicky. Even though the Franco regime may have artificially prolonged an era when such things were the norm (in most 'secular' Western countries, courtship was already a thing of the dead past by the '70s), I still think it preserved a few things that would be better not to have been lost.

So, yes, I really liked the way you portrayed the growing relationship between these two young people. In fact I wonder if, by setting the story at the time you did, you were trying to draw attention to the value of old-fashioned courtship? That certainly would explain the Don Quijote tie-in. Do you see yourself as a modern Quijote, defending old-fashioned courtliness and forcing your reader to consider whether we might all be better if we still clung to such "out-moded" romanticism?

[Manuel]

Lisa wrote: "Manuel Alfonseca... Do you see yourself as a modern Quijote, defending old-fashioned courtliness and forcing your reader to consider whether we might all be better if we still clung to such "out-moded" romanticism?"

Of course!

[Fonch]

Lisa wrote: "Manuel Alfonseca, I have a question for you in this regard. First, let me say that I loved the courtliness of the the relationship between the two young sweethearts, something that..."

Oh Mrs. Nicholas it is a big pleasure to have with us participaiting in our discussion. I say in other comment UCD and overall PSOE aproached more to the the secular countries of Europe tan the keep of the traditions of our country. In Europe was suffering the consequences of May of 68. For this reason UCD lelized the divorce, in 1985 PSOE aproved the abortion in three suppose, in 1988 the insemination. Nowadays the level it is too sad. The people pursues in the name of tolerance and freedom, yesterday isay to Manuel Alfonseca. One of my mates in the Center of Language was in favor to lose the religión, because somebody can be good wiyhout the necesity to practice any religión. This is the current level, and the Young people are most radicalized by the left wing.