The Fountains of Silence: A Novel

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019

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Chapters 141-149Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 141 Summary

Ana begs Daniel not to say anything to Cristina because the situation in Spain is still unstable. Daniel asks if he can speak to his father, and she agrees. Ana’s concern that Daniel will be angry is unfounded; if anything, he is “overjoyed to share this connection with her” (443).

Ana promises Daniel there will be no more silence, no more secrets. In fact, she follows this up by being clear and direct. Ana also wants him to know that she “wants to be with [him] and [she] hope[s] [he] might feel the same” (444). Daniel is overjoyed, realizing that Ben’s prediction has come true.

Chapter 142 Summary

Daniel introduces Ana to Cristina, and they get along well. Nick suggests they all have dinner, and Daniel is still unsure if he can be seen with Ana. Nick reminds him that Franco is dead, and that Ana has been waiting for him for 18 years. For the first time in a while, Daniel feels a sense of hope.

Chapter 143 Summary

Daniel tells Cristina about his love for Ana without revealing Cristina’s relationship to Ana’s family. Cristina is delighted to know that her brother is happy. She explains that she’s always felt guilty because people “imply that [Daniel] sacrificed [his] own personal happiness to take care of [her]” (448). Daniel is pleased that Cristina is happy for him.

Chapter 144 Summary

Daniel calls his father, who admits to paying for the adoption, but who did not know Cristina was a twin. Daniel thinks the truth will have to come out, not just about his sister, but about all the babies. Daniel’s father seems to think that though “Spain is heading toward democracy” (450), there will be amnesty for past crimes.

Daniel finds that hard to believe but is touched by his father asking him for advice on what to do about Cristina. He and Daniel agree that the relationship should be confirmed genetically before telling Cristina.

Chapter 145 Summary

Ana agrees with Daniel’s father, and they discuss the coordination of the test and Julia’s fears that the family might be punished in some way. Ana and Daniel are happy to be together, openly, at last; they cannot quite believe it is all real.

Chapter 146 Summary

Ana arranges for Daniel to meet with Julia and Antonio, who are both saddened by the realization that they missed 18 years of their child’s life, but simultaneously delighted that she is happy and healthy. Daniel explains that he wants to tell Cristina the truth; he doesn’t “want to keep [their] families apart” (457).

Chapter 147 Summary

Ana and Daniel attend a reception at the hotel, which turns out to be a surprise party that Nick and Cristina organized for Daniel. Nick has put up some of his photos from 1957, and many familiar faces are there, including Miguel and Paco Lobo.

Julia and Antonio meet Cristina, and though they cannot yet tell her about their connection, “Julia’s joy is radiant” (462). Cristina introduces Daniel to a boy she met at the hotel and gets Daniel’s permission to go out with him.

Chapter 148 Summary

Daniel takes Cristina to the Inclusa to meet Puri, who is now a nun. Puri pretends not to remember them, even when Cristina recalls the story her mother told her, about the “young girl” at the Inclusa who “convinced [her parents] that she was worthy and suited for the family” (466).

Puri asks Cristina if she was happy and raised Catholic and seems pleased with her answers, but continues to pretend she doesn’t remember Cristina. Daniel wonders what happened to the “giddy girl” who “asked a lot of questions” and notes that “something has stolen the light from her eyes” (467). Puri arranges for Cristina to tour the Inclusa, and Daniel asks to speak to Puri alone.

Chapter 149 Summary

After Daniel left Spain, Sister Hortensia forced Puri to enter the convent, though she doesn’t reveal that to Daniel. She seems to discourage Daniel’s questions, telling him that questions usually lead not to answers, but to more questions.

Daniel asks Puri what one should do if they did find the truth, Puri allows herself to feel a “note of hope” and tells Daniel that if one “discover[s] the truth, you must speak it aloud and help others to do the same […] Truth breaks the chains of silence. […] It sets us all free” (472).

Two excerpts follow the final chapter. The first is from a National Public Radio report from 2018, “First Stolen-Baby Case from Franco Dictatorship Goes to Court in Spain.” The report alleges that more than 300,000 babies were stolen from their birth families and sold into adoption between 1930 and the late 1980s.

A second excerpt comes from a 2008 New York Times article, “In Spain, a Monumental Silence.” It discusses the “pact of silence” that evolved after Franco’s death “during the transition to democracy” (474). A 2007 law passed in Spain, the Historical Memory Law, aims to dismantle that silence. It recognizes the victims of Franco’s regime, condemns Franco’s rule, and legislates the removal of Francoist symbols from public spaces.

Chapters 142-149 Analysis

The party held in Daniel’s honor demonstrates the way that balance has been restored: Ana and Daniel have been reunited, and so have Cristina and her birth parents, even though the text does not reveal the moment Cristina is told about her identity. Cristina’s character, however, and her delighted reaction to Daniel and Ana’s rekindled relationship, suggest that reunification with Julia, Antonio, and Lali will go relatively smoothly.

When Daniel goes to see Puri, she pretends that she doesn’t realize that Cristina is her beloved Clover. Forced to enter the convent by Sister Hortensia, Puri seems bitter and angry. Indeed, her demeanor resembles Fuga’s, and the reader remembers Fuga’s belief that he died “as a child, at the hands of a monster in the boys’ home” (267). The inquisitive and loving Puri that Daniel knew seems to have died at the hands of Sister Hortensia. Like Fuga did, Puri now resents Daniel, resents his privilege, and seethes with anger at Daniel’s observation that Puri has found contentment. Yet she does not allow herself to say any of this aloud, and in this way, she represents the “monumental silence” referenced in the New York Times excerpt.

Puri’s silence parallels what many call the “Pact of Forgetting”: the seemingly simultaneous, at-first unspoken agreement among the Spanish people not to punish or even investigate the crimes committed by and under Franco. As Daniel’s father predicted, there was a push for amnesty for Francoists, codified in the Amnesty Law of 1977. This pact and its attendant silence dissolved with the passage of the 2007 Historical Memory Law. In present-day Spain, investigations and lawsuits are still unfolding.

Despite years of being punished for what she uncovered, Puri still wants the truth to be revealed. Daniel sees a glimpse of the inquisitive, innocent girl who just wanted answers to her questions. Puri tells Daniel that if he is lucky enough to find the truth, he must “speak it aloud and help others to do the same.” Indeed, in what are the final words of the story—and an echo of a statement attributed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament—truth “sets us all free” (472).