Mrs. Hargraves and the hotel figures
The people around Arturo’s cheap lodging who give his precarious Los Angeles life a social setting.
To manage the hotel and its residents while dealing with Arturo’s uncertain money and dramatic behavior.
The book
At a glance
- Alta Loma Hotel
- Arturo’s landlady and fellow residents
- Show the practical conditions of his life
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeMrs. Hargraves and the other hotel figures see Arturo in the daily setting where his grand claims meet unpaid bills, isolation, and routine.
They are a grouped supporting presence. Their ordinary concerns keep Los Angeles from becoming only the heroic city of Arturo’s imagination.
How the book draws them
- Close witnessesThey see the gap between Arturo’s future fame and his present room.
- Practical concernsRent and order matter more to them than his artistic destiny.
- Social textureTheir presence prevents his isolation from becoming absolute.
- Counterweight to fantasyThe hotel remains an ordinary business even when Arturo treats it as part of his legend.
They remain part of the Los Angeles world Arturo begins to leave behind as his writing succeeds. The novel gives no single shared ending for the group.
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