Act 2, Scene 4 Summary

Palomo and Conchita are in the factory alone. He needs the keys to the safe in order to pay a delivery boy, and they wonder where Chechy and Santiago are. Conchita reckons that her father has a hangover. Santiago enters, rubbing his head. Ofelia says she left the keys in the office. Santiago complains that Ofelia's slippers, "louder than a running train," awoke him as usual; they banter. Marela enters, wearing her Russian coat. Juan Julian enters and begins reading from Part 3, Chapter 13 of Anna Karenina. As he reads, the stage directions specify that Chechy enters unnoticed, pulls a gun and shoots the lector twice. Marela reaches out to touch the dying man.

Act 2, Scene 4 Analysis

The reading from Anna Karenina depicts Alexei Karenin's inner dialogue about challenging Vronsky to a duel, an idea that has intrigued him from his youth...