The Tunnel: SUMMARY by chapters (Ernesto Sábato)

Within Latin American literature we find a work by Ernesto Sabato which is widely studied in classrooms and institutes: The tunnel. It is a psychological novel that was published in 1948 and is considered one of the most important literary works of the 20th century. But what is this book about? In a PROFESSOR we are going to offer you a summary of The tunnel by chapters so you can get into the heart of this work and get to know it better. A book that tells the story of a man who, one fine day, murders his wife

Index

1. Introduction to The Tunnel of Ernesto Sábato
2. Summary of The Tunnel: chapter 1 to 5
3. Chapter 6 to 12
4. The Tunnel: chapter 13 to 20
5. Summary of The Tunnel: chapter 21 to 24
6. Summary of the end of The Tunnel

Before starting with the summary of The tunnel, it is important to briefly present this literary work to contextualize it. We are before a book that takes us into the mentality of a subject

It is a psychological book set in Buenos Aires and that it was written by one of the most prominent Argentine writers of the 20th: Ernesto Sábato. During the course of the plot, the protagonist tells us the reasons that made him make such a drastic decision. A reasoned and justified exposition that pretends to tell his point of view so that he is not judged in advance.

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We begin this summary by chapters of The tunnel to delve into the plot and the events that are narrated during the novel. To do this, we will attend to what happens in the first chapters, from 1 to 5, which serve as an approach to the story.

This first part begins with the presentation of the protagonist, Juan Pablo Castel, a renowned Argentine painteror that he has murdered Maria, his wife. We observe that he is a very pessimistic character and that he was only understood by his wife, whom he has killed. During these first chapters we see how Juan Pablo considers that murderers are necessary, since they cleanse society of bad people.

We see how this character, although he presents himself as a person who does not care what they think of him, has a clear objective with this statement: someone to understand. He wants to find a person in the world who can understand why he did what he did and who can empathize with the events that he will narrate.

The argument of The tunnel telling us how Juan Pablo and María met. It was in an art gallery that the painter was doing an exhibition. Maria had stared at the "Motherhood" painting with relentless attention and observation. Juan Pablo tries to get closer to her, but then Maria disappears into the crowd.

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After months, Juan Pablo meets Maria by chance down the street. He decides to follow her, as he is still intrigued by the way the woman had of looking at her painting. They go up together in an elevator and, then, Maria tells him that she has not been able to forget her painting, that since she saw it in the exhibition, she thinks about it every day. After this confession, Maria leaves and Juan Pablo is left without answers.

The next day, the painter returns to the same point where he had found the girl. They meet again and, when asking for explanations or more information, she does not know very well what to answer. Juan Pablo asks him not to leave her life, that try to understand why she moves you so much that painting, since the two have undefined emotions.

Juan Pablo decides to call María the next morning, but they tell him that the woman has gone on a trip, leaving a letter for him first. When he goes to María's house, she is greeted by Allende, a blind man who introduces himself as María's husband. She gives him her letter and Juan Pablo reads it. In it, Maria he tells her that she has gone to a farm on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

We continue with the summary by chapters of The tunnel to focus on what happens from the 13th to the 20th. After reading the letter, Juan Pablo calls Maria and is very desperate to see her and find herself again. For a few days, the two continue talking through letters and, in one of them, the painter confesses that he is in love with María and that he wants to see her again. She doesn't want to hurt him, but they agree to see each other when Maria returns from her trip.

At this moment, we see that Maria is afraid of harming Juan Pablo. At all times, he tells her that he does not want to hurt him and that he prefers to maintain a colder and more distant relationship to avoid any problems between them. In the following meetings between the couple, arguments abound because Maria could not answer what he asked her. In these discussions we meet the most violent and aggressive part of the painter, a man who is unhinged and crazy with jealousy. He asks her if she is sleeping with Allende, her husband and María admits that she does, but that she does not want him.

In a fit of anger and madness, Juan Pablo cheats on Allende taking advantage of his blindness. This fact causes something to break between Maria and the painter. The girl does not want to answer her calls again and she distances herself from him a lot.

Juan Pablo, tired of being estranged, decides to go look for María at her house, but they inform him that she has gone back to the farm. She writes him a letter to apologize of her and show her the great love he feels for her. After a few days of silence, Juan Pablo receives María's answer: she invites him to the farm.

When the painter arrives at the farm, he is greeted by Hunter, a relative of María and Mimi, a woman who also lives on the farm. They tell him that Maria is not quite well and that she would come down later. Hunter and Juan Pablo eat together and then they begin to discuss her paintings and art in general. After a while, Maria goes down to the dining room and goes with Juan Pablo to give a walk on the beach.

It is at this moment that María opens up to the painter: he tells her what he felt when he saw the painting of her. And that's when he wants to kill her for the first time. Why? Because he believed that she was a false and lying woman. At night, Juan Pablo observes some strange behavior between María and Hunter and suspects that they are not only cousins, but also lovers. The next day, he decides to go by train to Buenos Aires.

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We have now reached the end of this summary of The tunnel her to know what happens in the last chapters of the work. After leaving the farm, Juan Pablo returns to Buenos Aires and that is when he begins to experience his great psychological catharsis. The painter goes to bars to get drunk and to be with other women; One day, he will write a letter to Maria explaining the reasons why she left the farm and her suspicions about her relationship with her cousin.

She regrets having written that letter and, therefore, calls Maria. When he manages to talk to her, she tells him to stop asking so many questions and hurting himself. The painter threatens his suicide to try to force her back. This makes Maria return to Buenos Aires. They agree on a day to meet, but Maria does not appear. When she calls on the phone, they tell her that she has returned to the farm because Hunter is sick.

Juan Pablo, mad with anger, will break one of her paintings and believe that Maria prefers Hunter over him. She decides to go back to the farm and, in the course of the drive, she will realize that he was living in a tunnel and that Maria lived outside of this tunnel. When he arrives at the farm, he sees the cousins ​​arm in arm and begins to realize more clearly than ever that they really are having an affair.

He enters Maria's room and she is surprised by her presence there. Then, Juan Pablo will caress her hair and, in that moment of sweetness and tranquility, he will stick a knife in your belly. Sadness filled his soul and this caused him to continue stabbing as if, like this, sadness was going to disappear. After committing the crime, she takes the car again and drives to Buenos Aires. Upon arrival, she decides to go to María's house and speak with Allende, her husband, to tell him that María had cheated on him with both Hunter and him. He confesses that he has killed Maria and leaves.

Juan Pablo will end up confessing his crime to the police and he will find out that Allende has committed suicide. It is in these moments that we learn that all this story is being told from prison, the place where he is now.

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