Frances the Mute - the characters analysed

"Vismund Cygnus is a twenty-five year old, HIV positive, IV drug-addicted prostitute. He was born to Frances, and is the product of a rape. He was either abandoned or simply adopted out to another family. He is on a quest to unravel the mystery of his origins. He seems to have some deep guilt going on at having been born male, and thus involuntarily aligned with the sort of male aggression that leads to things like rape and murder. He seems keenly tuned into the rapes and murders that occur in the world around him, seemingly making reference to the Juarez murders ("All the brittle tombs/five hundred little queues/I'm splitting hairs/to match the faces") and the deaths of innocent civilians due to the U.S. military presence on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico ("And with every body that I find/and with every claymore that they mine/I won't forget who I'm looking for"). On the other hand, he is described by one frequent client as knowingly having unprotected sex with his clientele, thus exposing them to possible infection, about which he doesn't seem concerned in the least. It appears that, in the final song, Cygnus takes his revenge through raping (and effectively murdering, since in so doing, he spreads his disease) 25 people, thus becoming "one of the others" -- becoming the very thing he most fears and despises in other men.

The Widow is a person of indeterminate gender, having been previously described as "El Viudo" (masculine) which has subsequently been translated to "The Widow" (feminine). It seems as if the loss of their partner has been relatively recent, as they are wracked by profound grief and loneliness. For this reason, they turn to Cygnus' professional services, and become rather addicted to him. They are initially in a bit of denial about the nature of Cygnus' illness (he coughs and wheezes a lot), but as they tell their story, it becomes clear that deep down, they know he has AIDS. They feel great shame about paying for sex, especially from someone as evidently defiled as Cygnus, but would much rather feel that than the aching emptiness that sleeping alone would bring. They yearn to be infected by Cygnus, so that they might finally have hope for a speedy death, and reunion with their beloved.

L' Via L' Viaquez is the sister of Frances, and the aunt of Cygnus. She witnessed the rape of Cygnus' mother, and fled the scene of the crime. Her escape was noticed by the witnesses (described as the owls) who take advantage of the situation to blackmail her, and to silence her with threats. Cygnus somehow tracks her down, and she tells him a partial version of the story -- basically that she found his mother's dress, and cleaned up the blood, but saw nothing. He is able to tell by her omissions more about the story than her words tell him. He warns her to look out for herself, as there are many who would like to kill her. And, she does in fact wind up raped and murdered. Cygnus is so distraught by her death that he not only vows to avenge her, but also starts to lose his grip on reality. He knows he doesn't have much time left to live, but he intends to spend it making her murderers, and his mother's rapist, pay for what they have done.

Miranda is the mother of Frances and L' Via, and the grandmother of Cygnus. The coquis at the beginning of her song appear to place her in Puerto Rico. Cygnus tracks her down, led on by clues he has gotten from L' Via. They have a rather intense conversation, and she expresses deep sadness and anger at how these corrupt men have caused him so much pain that he takes it out on himself in the form of his drug abuse. She has tried in the past to tell what she knows about the details of the crime against Frances, but nobody will listen to her, because they are afraid of reprisals by the powerful men behind the crime.

Cassandra Gemini is a complete mystery at this time. Her name seems to signify that she will prophesy and curse, but will not be believed (as was the case with Miranda), and that she is a "twin". She could literally be Cygnus' twin. She could be Miranda's wrathful side. Or, she could be Cygnus' wratful alter-ego. Whatever the case, her song appears clearly to be narrated by none other than Cygnus.

The Stripper from the spoken word part is likewise a mystery. The passage appears to be something Cygnus has written in his journal. My current theory is that, given Cygnus' line of work, she is a feminine alter-ego of his, especially given the heavy predatory overtones of the blowjob she gives in the passage. She may even be Cassandra -- assuming that that character is a wrathful feminine alter-ego of Cygnus'.

The John from the spoken word part is most likely an amalgam of all of the john's Cygnus has been with, or perhaps even of men in general. His orgasm is described in terms not far removed from what one would expect of a murder victim.

The Owls are those who have profitted off of Cygnus' mother's misfortune by blackmailing L' Via. They may be higher-ups in the church.

The Crows are most probably predatory priests (read: birds who wear black). Cygnus or Cassandra vows they will be exposed and defrocked.

Frances Cygnus' mother, L' Via's sister, Miranda's daughter. Possible deaf-mute (although this could be completely metaphorical). If it is in fact literal, she may have been in the care of the Church somehow, or working for them in some capacity. In any case, she was raped by at least one priest while others looked on. Her sister L' Via was a witness to this act, and ran away. Frances bore a baby, Cygnus, who it appears was taken away from her and most likely raised in a church-run orphanage. It seems that she fought the church on this, trying to protect her baby from them, and vowing they would not take him. They did. She may have threatened to go to the secular authorities with her story as a means of blackmailing them into giving her Cygnus, and it appears she was killed to silence her."

Apparently the single for "the Widow" will contain the 'decoder' track "Frances the Mute" and that will make everything a lot more clear. I think i could do with hearing it.