Ans.Elmo's Fire

It seems to me that Anselmo is either crazy for wanting to test is loyal wife or he just feels that things might be too good to be true. At the beginning of chapter 33 he speaks of how his life and been so blessed and so on and that he has this great family and perfect wife and everything. But, then he speaks to Lotario of how he wants to test Camila’s purity. Of course Lotario refuses just like any best friend would and basically calls Anselmo crazy. The fact that Anselmo would approach Lotario with such a plan in the first place displays some kind of insecurity in Anselmo’s character. Maybe he figures that it would be best that his good friend that could surely never deceive him test her so that he might avoid deception in the future by someone else. Although Lotario refuses, Anselmo continues to pressure him to the point where he actually does attempt to “woo” Camila. At first Camila protests against this like any loyal wife would, but when the attention continues and with Anselmo away, she begins to fall for Lotario because he’s there for her and has taken Anselmo’s place. Unfortunate for Anselmo, he never thought that his best friend could betray him. Things continue to unfold as Camila’s maid takes up a lover and Lotario and Camila continue to lie to Anselmo, stating they are not having an affair when in reality they do. Things persist until the climax of the story when Camila fakes her stabbing and in the next morning both Camila and Lotario run away and Leonela and her lover as well. Anselmo forced Lotario to dishonor himself in order to play out his plan. After Lotario and Camila began to love each other and felt honor for each other, Anselmo was now the odd man out. Anselmo’s friendship was no longer important to be loyal to when he desired such crazy things from Lotario. Once Camila found out of Anselmo’s crazy request she too confirms her loyalty to Lotario over Anselmo. Ultimately, what come to hurt and betray Anselmo is that he asked Lotario do be disloyal to him and expected him to actually stay loyal. Unfortunately, with Anselmo being away, this disloyal “playing” becomes real as both Camila and Lotario begin to enjoy each other’s presence. Anselmo took for granted what a perfect life he had and let his insecurities get the best of him. His desire to find a flaw forced the flaw to occur and this is what led to his demise.