This is a story with several points of view. The narrators are a group of teenage girls, and Mariana Enriquez captures their different voices through seamless transitions of pronouns and nouns. In the beginning, we have “Silvia lived alone in a rented apartment of her own…” (1), and we assume that the story is in third person. The fourth line, however, describes Silvia as “…our ‘grownup’ friend, the one who took care of us when we went out and let us use her place to smoke weed and meet up with boys” (1). At the end of the first paragraph we read, “I’m talking low-class—that girl couldn’t dream of walking a runway” (2). The entire opening of the story is a cacophony of voices, so cleverly blended together and well-written that it’s easy to imagine the teenage girls talking over one another, or perhaps taking turns, to tell this story. This writing choice by Enriquez sets an interesting tone throughout the story and makes us wonder what is so important that all of them must speak?
We quickly come to realize that this group of girls hold considerable ill will towards Silvia by this jarring sentence: “But we wanted her ruined, helpless, destroyed” (1). There is such malice in those three words, such intense, deep feelings that causes us to sit up in our chairs. It is such strong language for even one narrator to use. Why the hatred towards Silvia? What did she do to warrant such strong emotion? We read on with caution because we now doubt the reliability of these narrators—a heart that feels such strong emotion cannot see with clear eyes. The girls continue to use strong language throughout the rest of the story, with the curse words, the shaming of Silvia’s body, their description of their desire for Diego, etc. Everything in this story is intense.
The essence of Marquez’s “Our Lady” is the messiness, the vulnerability, and the sensitivity of being teenage girls. Their teenage desire is evident in their want for what they can’t possess or don’t yet have, e.g. Diego, the freedoms of adulthood, and maturity. They’re also in the process of understanding both sexuality and their own bodies which fuels their intense jealousy for Silvia and her appeal to Diego; they believe themselves to be attractive and appealing to any man and yet can’t get Diego to notice them. Furthermore, this is a time where, due to their ages and inexperience, they are emotionally vulnerable and sensitive. This is apparent in their continuous confusion as to why Diego prefers Silvia over them, their embarrassment and humiliation from being played by Diego and Silvia, and Natalia’s rage and subsequent revenge on them both.
If there is one prevailing emotion among all the narrators, it is their deep want for revenge on Silvia. Beginning with that first jarring sentence, the want intensifies and eventually results in the murders of Silvia and Diego. The last phrase “Fine, great, it’s all good, it’s all good” (7), reads to us almost like a justification for their actions. They spend six pages telling us why Silvia is terrible, and then explains away her murder (and that of Diego) as she (they) deserved it. It can also be thought of with a dismissive tone, the girls having decided to put the event behind them. These girls show that someone(s) can seem innocent from a distance until one looks closer, much like the plaster statue assumed to be the Virgin when in actuality it is a red-painted female spirit of sexuality and witchcraft. These girls began as teenagers and ended as murderers.
“Our Lady of the Quarry” reveals so much in seven pages and is truly a testament to the writing abilities of Mariana Enriquez. She blends numerous aspects of writing together to create a dynamic and personal story that resonates with us.