Characters

I love my characters, especially the protagonist. Her name will probably Maria del Carmen, named after the Virgin of Mendoza, Argentina. She is a 56 year old woman who is trapped in a lifeless marriage to a viticulturalist, owner of a vineyard and winery who has cheated on her. She will go through a journey of rediscovery to find out what she really wants out of life, looking back at who she was and moving forward through various people who will help her find her way. She gave up working as a teacher because her husband wanted her to raise her kids in their mountain home in Vistalba. Now 25 or so years later she is depressed and doesn't know why. But the affair discovery serves as a catalyst, albeit, before she's ready, to take another look at her life and what she wants to do with the rest of it.

The husband, whose name will be Serafin, is a quiet intellectual type who is so involved in his life outside the home he sees nothing else. He has doted on his daughter and she is the only one with whom he's conversed in the house for the past decade. He always carried the wish that his children would follow his footsteps and sad they didn't. He contributes to a newspaper weekly for his wine expertise and he teaches at the university (a class on viticuluralism), plays chess with his high society friends, and is having an affair with another professor.

The daughter, whose name will be Valentina, is a teacher like her mother had been, but of science. She had gotten a scholarship to the most prestigious university in BA but her father did not allow her to go because it was too far away from home, typical of Argenting and Hispanic cultures. She has settled into a teaching job she's not passionate about and the only thing that keeps her semi-happy is her boyfriend. She has seen her father as her protector, daddy's little girl, even after she got over the disappointment of not being able to follow her career as a geneticist in BA.

The son, whose name will be Marcelo, is a lover of animals who will be graduating soon from high school and will go on to Veterinarian school for large animals: horse, cows, lamas, guanacos. He is a boy happy on the mountain, tending to the horses in a neighbor's farm. He loves and has a great relationship with his mother.