The green House - Mario Vargas Llosa

"The green house" is a book written by Mario Vargas Llosa in 1967. Here three stories are linked that are linked throughout the plot. We can find characters in decline that are carried away by vices and depravity. Therefore, in this work different themes are exposed such as morality, prostitution, ambition, contraband, among others.

Characters from "The Green House"

Dentro de la historia encontramos al personaje protagonista, Don Anselmo, un extraño hombre, que llega al pueblo de Piura y crea la casa verde que es un prostíbulo. El Sargento Lituma es otro de los personajes protagonistas de la obra, víctima de las malas amistades que le hicieron daño a él y a su esposa Bonificia, quien es una joven muy hermosa que cautivó a todo el pueblo, y termina como prostituta con el apodo de “La selvática”

Por otro lado encontramos a Fushia, quien es un hombre avaro que se vale de su poder para aprovecharse de los más vulnerables.  Se casa con Lalita, a quien trata muy mal, y por eso ella lo abandonó cuando enfermo de lepra, huyendo con Adrián Nieves.

Por su parte, encontramos a Aquilino, quien era el mejor amigo de Fushia y quien estuvo siempre a su lado. Adrián Nieves es un militar fugitivo que se dedicaba al contrabando de las mercancías junto a Fushia. La Chunga es la hija de don Anselmo,  fue criada por la señora Juana cuando falleció su madre Antonia. Además es la que dirige la casa verde y  prostituta del lugar.

Summary and synopsis of the work

This book is organized into four chapters, which in turn has sub chapters added, in which characters such as Don Anselmo, Fushia, and Staff Sgt are referenced.

1.- Chapter I:

Firstly, the Sergeant and Adrián Nieves enter the jungle, since they had to carry out a mission. These were accompanied by different companions, who admired the beauty of the missionaries who were in those places.

Aquilina was Fushia's best friend and was in charge of the administration. But his health was getting worse every day. For his part, Fushia was dedicated to committing his crimes in the jungle, going into swampy areas to smuggle rubbers and skins with the indigenous people, then Chunga, daughter of Don Anselmo, takes care of the green house, after the death of her father, and the mother superior is distressed and forbids Bonifacia from approaching that green house.

Fushia receives a lot of ammunition from Don Julio so that he can survive in the jungle, but he must remain silent about the illegal acts committed in the jungle.

2.- Chapter II:

In this chapter of "The Green House" Sergeant Adrian accompanied by the blonde go to their tents, where they will have a meeting to talk about the crimes committed by Adrian, Julio Reátegui and Fushia, where illegal business occurs.
In the course of the plot, Don Anselmo conquered Antonia, but after having his daughter, he died. All the people comment that he took advantage of the girl and made her his wife.

On the other hand, El Sargento is very distressed because Bonifacia could not marry before completing his new assignment. On the other hand, changes began to be led by the Chunga, and the Sergeant returned victorious from his mission and that is why he could finally marry his beloved.

3.- Chapter III:

In this chapter the marriage between Bonifacia and the Sergeant is given, but he had changed a lot, now he was a very insecure and jealous man, and it bothered him that his companions saw his wife. Then the sergeant made another trip that took four weeks and left his wife alone.

Then Fushia and Lalita got married and he takes his new wife to a shack. In this chapter, Antonia's funeral is also held, and Mrs. Juana was very distressed by this unfortunate event. People were very angry and they are in front of the green house to damage it along with Anselmo.

Before this, everyone was very shocked, since Anselmo was with his little girl in his arms, and they pointed out him as the culprit for Antonia's death, since he got her pregnant and left her alone and locked up for some months. On the other hand, Lalita feels harassed by the nuns who managed to escape, and then she becomes a prostitute in the green house, and was known as "La jungle"

4.- Chapter IV:

In this chapter of the book Don Anselmo gradually begins to suffer from depression due to the guilt he feels and his drinking, and also his financial situation was not right, since the green house no longer provided him with as much income as before. Father García went to visit him so that he would repent of all his sins before dying. Juana, for her part, took care of Anselmo's daughter.

On the other hand, the sergeant hits his wife when he discovers that she is a prostitute from the green house. For her part, Fushia also begins to treat Lalita very badly and even became intimate with other women of the tribe in her presence. But Fushia gets sick and his Aquilino is always with him in his illness.

Analysis of the work

In "The Green House" the author presents us with three stories that are developed and united as the protagonists relate directly. In this way we find the story of Anselmo who is a strange man who creates the green house which is a brothel that becomes famous in the town. But that destabilizes the tranquility of it.

In this way the character of Anselmo was seen as the cause of the lust and misfortunes of the people, and the settlers began to take actions to end the immorality of the green house that was so disturbing in the community, especially the religious ones.

On the other hand, we find the story of Sergeant Lituma, who marries Bonifacia who prostitutes herself in the green house and is known as the jungle. This baffles her husband, who beats him up.

Finally, the author shows us the story of Fushia, who is a smuggler who was smuggling fur with the indigenous people, his best friend Aquilino accompanies him during all his misdeeds until the end of his days.
In this sense, "The Green House" is a work that tells us about the development of these three characters that are related to the Green House and the impact it caused in the town of Piura, where the perversion was present in the inhabitants.

Verbatim quotes from the work

"Those who make maps do not know that the Amazon is a hot woman, it does not stand still."

"These ungrateful women wanted so much women and night fun that at last heaven (" the devil, the damned cachudo ", says Father Garcia) ended up pleasing them. And so it was that the Green House appeared, boisterous and frivolous, at night. ”
"Because neither the flood, nor the drought, nor the plagues stopped the growing glory of the Green House."

"Outsiders are wrong when they say 'the houses in the city are about to fall': the nightly cracks do not come from the buildings, which are old but sturdy, but from the invisible, countless tiny projectiles of sand crashing into the doors and the windows. They are wrong, too, when they think: "Piura is …"

"These ungrateful women wanted so much women and night fun that at last heaven (" the devil, the damned cachudo ", says Father Garcia) ended up pleasing them. And so it was that the Green House appeared, boisterous and frivolous, at night. ”
“Because neither the flood, nor the drought, nor the plagues stopped the growing glory of the Green House.” ”

"When he argued, the violence in his voice made him think of a montoneras captain."