Anita de Monte: From Rising Artist to Protective Spirit

Overview

Anita de Monte is a Cuban‑American conceptual artist who navigates the New York art world of the 1980s while trapped in a toxic marriage with the celebrated minimalist Jack Martin. Her story unfolds across two timelines—her vibrant, thwarted life and her afterlife as a ghost who haunts those who sought to erase her. Through the eyes of her own narration and the parallel journey of art‑history student Raquel Toro, the novel reveals Anita as a fierce, talented, and deeply human figure whose legacy refuses to be silenced.

Learn more about the novel’s plot →

Plot Role

Anita functions as both a tragic protagonist and a supernatural catalyst. Her murder at the hands of Jack Martin sets the central mystery and drives the structural parallel with Raquel’s present‑day investigation. As a ghost, she becomes an active agent of haunting: she alters Jack’s installations at his own exhibitions, attacks his dealer Tilly Barber in bat form, and ultimately chooses to protect Raquel rather than exact fatal revenge. The narrative positions Anita as the conscience that the art world ignores—her spirit physically manifests whenever her work is discussed or her legacy threatened.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Anita’s primary motivation is recognition—not merely for herself, but for her art. During life, she “decides to reclaim her might” the night of Tilly’s party after years of Jack shrinking her achievements. This decision, described as “growing a new version of myself” with “thick coconut‑shell skin,” shows her resilience and capacity for joy even in the face of public humiliation. In the afterlife, her power is directly tied to the presence of her art in the world: she realizes “it was my art out in the world” that sustains her spirit. When her sister tries to mount a retrospective, Anita experiences hope; when Jack’s lawyers block it, she rages. Her ghost learns to take physical form only after being instructed by a bat (the deceased lover of a painter she once helped). She uses this power to bite and shatter objects, but her vengefulness eventually cools when Raquel restores public attention to her work. This shift from vengeance to guardianship—she stops chasing Jack at the last moment, “tired of the cycle”—demonstrates a capacity for growth even in death.

Chronological Arc

1978–1985 (life): Anita rises from an Iowa art student to a Guggenheim winner. She recalls her first solo show at the Venus Collective, where her framed photographs “mysteriously fell and shattered” in a supernatural display of her art’s energy. She marries Jack despite warning signs, and over the years she endures his condescension, infidelity, and control. In 1980, after a humiliating mock‑toast at his Berkeley retrospective, she decides never to put Jack before herself again.
Fall 1985 (death): At Tilly’s party, Anita dances exuberantly, wearing silver sequins, and reveals a solo show in Rome. That same night, after a fight with Jack over adultery and her career, he beats her and throws her from the window. Instead of hitting the ground, she plunges into an ocean, returning to Yemayá, and stands on Varadero Beach in Cuba—a spiritual rebirth.
1985–1990s (afterlife): Anita’s ghost appears under a ceiba tree on Varadero. She learns to travel to places that made her happy, and to take bat form when her art is active. She torments Jack and Tilly, sabotages Jack’s exhibitions by altering his work, and experiences despair when her art is buried by Jack’s legal control.
2000 (resolution): At Tilly’s party, Anita chases Jack intending to push him down a staircase, but stops. With her art restored by Raquel, her anger lessens. She transitions into a protective spirit, helping Raquel through subtle acts like bringing her a mouse.

Relationships

Jack Martin: Her husband and murderer. Their relationship is a cycle of “tiny acts of violence enacted with words” escalating to physical abuse. Jack exploits her Cuban family history for social capital, belittles her achievements, and copies her tree‑trunk sculptures. Yet Anita initially chose him over a Florida residency after he gave her Bulgari earrings and promises. Her ghost’s primary haunting target, she eventually spares him.
Tilly Barber: Jack’s art dealer and Anita’s frenemy. Tilly performs “moral disgrace” by calling curators to cancel Anita’s retrospective under Jack’s pressure. Anita attacks her in bat form, smashing items in Tilly’s apartment. Tilly’s complicity represents the institutional erasure Anita fights.
Raquel Toro: The living character who becomes Anita’s champion. Anita observes Raquel from the afterlife, “decided to stay with her” after Raquel recognizes Anita’s hand in Jack’s altered work, marking a shift from solitary haunting to mentoring.
Jomar: A friend who dances with Anita at Tilly’s party, helping her reclaim joy.
Her sister and niece: Her sister fights for a retrospective; her niece senses Anita’s presence.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Choosing Jack over a Florida residency: Leads to a marriage that enables her erasure.
Deciding to divorce Jack and hiring a private detective: The discovery sparks the fatal fight, but also represents reclaiming agency.
Performing the exaggerated “Cuban novia” toast at Jack’s retrospective: Publicly humiliates him, solidifies her decision never to put him first, and results in him throwing her out.
Using ghostly powers to alter Jack’s exhibitions: Temporarily disrupts his career and proves her art’s vitality.
Stopping her vengeance against Jack at the last moment: Ends the cycle of harm, allowing her to become a protective spirit and find peace through Raquel’s work.

Theme/Symbol Connections

Erasure of women artists: Anita’s life and death exemplify how the art world systematically forgets women of color. Her murder is omitted from academic curricula; her catalogs are buried by Jack’s estate. Read more on the erasure theme →
Class and privilege: Anita’s Cuban aristocratic background torments Jack, and her working‑class origins are contrasted with Raquel’s own class struggles. Explore class and privilege →
Identity and belonging: She moves between Cuban and American worlds, never fully accepted by either. See identity and belonging →
Power and control: Jack’s dominance over Anita extends beyond death through legal control of her estate. Learn about power and control →
Haunting and legacy: Anita’s ghost actively defies erasure; her art becomes the anchor for her continued existence. Discover haunting and legacy →
Santería / Yemayá: Her fall into the ocean is a return to the orisha Yemayá, marking a spiritual rebirth that connects her to Cuban roots.

Five Book‑Specific Questions and Answers

Why does Anita decide to divorce Jack on the day she dies?
She has endured years of his control and infidelity; with a successful career and evidence of his adultery, she resolves to “burn the bridge” and take half his money. The decision is a final act of reclaiming power.
What sustains Anita’s ghostly power?
She learns during her attack on Tilly that her art, when active in the world, is the source of her energy. Thoughts alone allow her to move small objects, but bat form and greater strength require her work to be displayed or discussed.
How does Anita’s ghost first attain physical form?
A bat—the deceased lover of the painter Marco—teaches her that she can become visible and bite by first falling, like a bat dropping from a branch. She practices on Varadero before confronting Jack in jail.
Why does Anita spare Jack’s life at the end of her arc?
After Raquel restores public attention to her art, Anita’s anger lessens. At Tilly’s party in spring 2000, she chases Jack toward a staircase but stops, “tired of the cycle of vengeance,” and transitions into a protective guardian.
What role does the ceiba tree play in Anita’s afterlife?
The ceiba appears on Varadero Beach after her death. It functions as a gateway: climbing it brings her to places where people think of her with emotion. Under its branches, she meets the bat who teaches her to fly, and it becomes her spiritual home.

For further discussion of Anita’s legacy and the novel’s ending, see the ending explained page and the questions and answers section.