Mexican Gothic

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. What is Catalina’s relation to Noemí?

2. What is High Place?

3. Who picks up Noemí from the train station?

4. What date appears on all the headstones?

5. What illness is Catalina said to have?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Noemí’s father concerned about Catalina?

2. What does Catalina want Noemí to go into town to get?

Paired Resource

“Feminism and the Gothic: A Brief History”

• This article by Clare Knowles provides a quick contextualization of the gothic genre and women’s unique ties to it from its inception to the present.
• This resource pairs with the theme of The Feminist Gothic.
• What unique connections do female authors have to Gothic literature?  

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. From whom does Noemí ask to borrow a car to go into town?

2. What is Noemí instructed not to do at dinner?

3. What does the ouroboros symbolize?

4. What does Noemí find Francis collecting in the cemetery?

5. What task does Florence give Noemí when Noemí asks how she can make herself useful?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Noemí learn about Howard Doyle’s marriages? 

2. What does Francis tell Noemí about Ruth? 

Paired Resource

“The Ancient Symbol that Spanned Millenia”

• This article from BBC Culture explains the history and symbolism of the ouroboros.
• This resource pairs with the theme of Death, Corruption, and Objectification in the House of Doyle.
• Why is the ouroboros a fitting symbol for the House of Doyle?

Chapters 11-17

Reading Check

1. Whom does Noemí encounter while sleepwalking?

2. Who was Benito?

3. What happens when Catalina takes the tincture Noemí obtained from Marta Duval?

4. Who was Virgil’s first wife?

5. What does Catalina slip into the book of poetry she gives Noemí?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Noemí see in her nightmare?

2. What does Dr. Camarillo tell Noemí concerning the tincture Marta made for Catalina?

Chapters 18-20

Reading Check

1. What excuse does Virgil make for refusing to take Noemí to the train station?

2. What are Virgil’s intentions for the silver mine?

3. Where are all the ancestral memories of High Place housed?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What brings Noemí back to reality when she sees the wallpaper moving?

Paired Resource

“Colonialism, Eugenics, and Downright Terror in Mexican Gothic”

• In this NPR interview, author Silvia Moreno-Garcia discusses her background studying the history of eugenics and her intentions in reframing the gothic tale in the context of Mexico’s colonial history. This resource can be read or listened to.
• This resource pairs with the theme of Colonialism and Imperialism in Mexico.
• Why did Moreno-Garcia tell a story about English colonialism in Mexico? What was one effect that the belief in eugenics as a legitimate science had on people’s lives?

Chapters 21-27

Reading Check

1. What habit does Noemí have that irritates the house?

2. What does Francis offer to Noemí as a weapon?

3. What does the wedding dress remind Noemí of?

4. What is Noemí required to ingest at the wedding ceremony?

5. Whom does Noemí kill while rescuing Catalina?

6. What does the buzzing sound Noemí has frequently heard during her time at High Place turn out to be?

7.  What happens to High Place?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What humiliation is Noemí forced to endure when her attempt to escape is unsuccessful? 

2. What reason does Virgil give for wanting to marry Noemí?

3. What lingering fear does Francis have even after they escape High Place?

Paired Resource

“The Distinctive ‘Hapsburg Jaw’ Was Likely the Result of the Royal Family’s Inbreeding”

• This article from the Smithsonian Magazine explains the science behind the infamous Hapsburg Jaw, which Noemí alludes to in this section of the novel.
• This resource pairs with the theme of Death, Corruption, and Objectification in the House of Doyle.
• How did inbreeding lead to the fall of the House of Doyle and the Hapsburg dynasty?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

• The Hacienda is set in the aftermath of the Mexican War. Beatriz, the daughter of a general executed by the new government, seeks to ensure the safety of her widowed mother by marrying the handsome, though mysterious, Don Rodolfo Solorzano. When she arrives at his country estate, however, she discovers that the house is less than welcoming and now her own safety is threatened.
• This resource pairs with the theme of The Feminist Gothic.
• Shared topics include Mexican colonialism and Gothic literature.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

• God of Jade and Shadow is set in 1920s Mexico and is based on a Mayan myth about a young woman’s quest to find herself and save the God of Death, Hun-Kame.
• This resource pairs with the theme of Colonialism and Imperialism in Mexico.
• Shared topics include Mexican colonialism and female heroes.
• Gods of Jade and Shadow on SuperSummary