Rufina

Rufina is one of the novel’s title characters. She was born in the United States. She is descended from a Native American community located in Central America. In the present-day storyline, she is 28 years old. The identity of her father is never stated. After the death of her mother, she is very concerned about her half brother. She worries that her brother will be consumed by grief, and she urges him to leave their hometown of Tres Hermanas.

However, Rufina is equally in danger of being consumed by grief, not only due to the loss of her mother, but also due to other lingering traumas. The reader eventually learns that, when Rufina was a child, she was raped by the Explorer. She became pregnant, and the baby died when Rufina gave birth to it. Rufina sees ghosts or visions of her mother and of the baby. Eventually...