Act 1, Scene 5 Summary

Scene 5 begins with Juan Julian's soliloquy to Conchita and Marela about cities. Cities asphyxiate him, while parks enliven him. Conchita asks why he chose to read Anna Karenina, and he responds that "Tolstoy understands humanity like no other writer does." They discuss the author a bit, and Marela excuses herself. Conchita asks why Juan Julian became a lector, and he tells how he discovered books one summer while the family was hiding out from a creditor. He says that he would like to learn what New Englanders are like. Conchita tells about the only one she has ever met, a very shy boy who refused to help her carry out an annual Cuban ritual. The lector asks about the ritual, which entails girls cutting their hair once a year on February 2nd, the Feast of Saint Candelaria, and burying the cutting...