Carlos Romeral: Diary, Unrequited Love and Tragic Death

Carlos Romeral and the Child's Tragic Diary

Carlos Romeral is invited by a friend to accompany him to visit the child on his deathbed. While taking the tour, the child drops his diary, which he had hidden in his bed. Carlos's friend picks it up, examines it, and starts reading. The diary contains the story of a boy who was in love with a friend of his mother called Angélica.

Plot

Throughout the story, the boy tells us how he gradually falls in love. Angélica pampers him; he badly misunderstands her attention, slowly falls in love, and comes to believe she feels the same way about him. Then comes the disappointment. She realizes that she is in love with a boy her own age named Jorge. This is the moment that begins the path that will lead to the boy's decline and eventual death.

Initially, the child's family and friends believe that the origin of his illnesses is alcohol intake during an evening with Angélica. However, according to his diary, during the celebration he saw Angélica kiss Jorge on the cheek after having felt ignored by her throughout the evening. This unleashed the boy's rage; he sheltered under the dining-room table. His mother drags him out of that place, pinches him, and takes him home, where he falls ill.

In the end, it appears that the only cause of his death was the love that, little by little, destroyed his health and sanity and led him to the grave.

Characters

• The child: The main character of the work. Family and friends think he suffered alcohol poisoning, but in fact the diary suggests the real cause of his illness is unrequited love.
• Angélica: A young woman who shows affection to the boy. She does not reciprocate his romantic love; because he does not receive the love he desires, the boy's life ends tragically.
• Carlos Romeral: A close friend of the family who tries to help the child. With the help of a friend, he supports the child's mother.
• Mother: The child's mother, who intervenes when the boy hides under the table and later cares for him at home.
• Father: Tries to fill the gap in the family, but as we see in the course of the work, he does not fully succeed.
• Grandmother: A family figure who, despite efforts, does not succeed in preventing the boy's decline.
• Jorge: Angélica's boyfriend. His kiss on Angélica's cheek at the end of the story triggers the boy's emotional collapse and begins the fatal decline.
• Carmencita and Raquelita: Cousins mentioned in the narrative.
• Pedro and Enrique: The child's siblings; an important element of the story is how they felt loved by the family and how that relationship factored into the household dynamic.
• Juana: The maid of the house, present in the domestic setting.
• Mr. Latorre: Inspector of the college, a figure of local authority referenced in the story.
• The Doctor: The physician who attends the child when he falls ill and diagnoses alcohol intoxication, rather than recognizing a condition rooted in emotional suffering.

Key Themes

• Unrequited love as a destructive force
• Family misunderstanding and misdiagnosis
• Innocence and vulnerability of the child protagonist
• Social appearances masking emotional causes

Notes

The diary functions as the narrative device that reveals the interior life of the boy and exposes how emotional wounds can be misread as physical illness. The characters listed above are central to understanding the interplay between affection, neglect, and the fatal consequences of misunderstood feelings.