Raquel Toro: The Scholar Who Reclaimed Anita de Monte

Overview

Raquel Toro is a first‑generation Puerto Rican art history student at Brown University in the late 1990s. She wins a curatorial fellowship at the RISD Museum but quickly finds herself navigating a world of privilege, microaggressions, and institutional gatekeeping. Her discovery of forgotten artist Anita de Monte——a Latina sculptor whose legacy was erased after her husband Jack Martin murdered her——sparks a personal and academic mission to restore Anita’s place in the canon. By the novel’s end, Raquel wins the Department Chair’s Prize for her thesis on Anita’s influence and begins a writing career at Art in America, choosing second chances over a predetermined path.

Plot Role

Raquel is the contemporary protagonist whose narrative runs parallel to Anita’s ghostly second life. She serves as the reader’s entry point into the novel’s critique of the art world’s erasures. Her arc moves from a deferential student who internalizes her professor’s warnings about “academic politics” to a determined scholar who confronts those very systems. Key plot beats include:

• Winning the RISD fellowship and immediately facing resentment from peers like the “Art History Girls.”
• Beginning a relationship with fellow student Nick Fitzsimmons, a privileged sculptor whose family’s wealth and connections expose Raquel to a different world——and to its costs.
• Discovering Anita de Monte’s work after Nick’s mother casually dismisses the dead artist, prompting Raquel to investigate the murder trial and Anita’s forgotten art.
• Unearthing evidence that Jack Martin’s post‑murder work was influenced by Anita’s pieces, including a land art piece at RISD that Raquel recognizes from Jack’s catalog.
• Confronting her professor John Temple about his omission of Jack’s domestic violence from lectures and securing permission to write a thesis on Anita’s influence, advised by curator Belinda Kim.
• Delivering her honors thesis, “Form and Figure: Revisiting Jack Martin and Anita de Monte,” winning the Department Chair’s Prize and a co‑authored feature in Art in America.
• Declining immediate grad school offers to take an entry‑level writing job at the magazine and moving to Brooklyn with her friend Marcus.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Raquel is driven by a desire for belonging and validation, but those motivations evolve as she gains confidence. Her actions reveal several key traits:

Academic ambition – She thirsts for knowledge beyond the Eurocentric canon; after discovering Anita, she throws herself into research, spending hours in the library tracking down newspaper archives and exhibition catalogs.

Defiance against erasure – When Professor Temple dismisses Anita as a “minor artist,” Raquel refuses to back down, arguing that teaching Jack Martin while omitting his domestic violence is “ethically wrong.” She later rejects Temple’s offer to co‑advise her thesis, choosing Belinda Kim instead.

Self‑doubt and resilience – Early interactions, such as the humiliating dinner with the Art History Girls who accuse her of being a gold digger, show her internalizing class shame. Yet she recovers, using that pain as fuel. When Nick cuts her hair without consent, she initially goes along, but later realizes the act symbolized his dominance and her submission——a turning point that strengthens her resolve.

Cultural pride – She maintains ties to her Puerto Rican heritage through her mother Irma and sister Toni. She finds solidarity in discovering that Anita, too, was Latina, and she channels that shared identity into academic reclaimation.

Chronological Arc

• Summer 1998 – Raquel begins her RISD fellowship, meets Nick, and first learns of Anita de Monte after a dinner at the Fitzsimmons home. She immediately researches the murder and Anita’s work.
• Fall 1998 – She navigates her relationship with Nick, facing tension with his family and her own friends. She discovers the connection between Anita’s land art and Jack’s catalog.
• Winter‑Spring 1999 – She ends her relationship with Nick after he cuts her hair and her roommates support her. She confronts Professor Temple and wins permission for her thesis, advised by Belinda Kim. The ghost of Anita decides to “stay with her” after witnessing Raquel’s defiance.
• Spring 1999 – She delivers her thesis, wins the Department Chair’s Prize, and receives an early Anita photograph from Nick’s mother. She declines grad school to write for Art in America.

Relationships

Nick Fitzsimmons – A sculptor from a wealthy family; their relationship begins with mutual attraction but becomes a power struggle. Raquel realizes she was deferring to him, and his mother’s condescension toward Anita infects her view of him. She breaks up with him after he cuts her hair without consent.

Professor John Temple – Initially a mentor, he warns Raquel about “academic politics.” She later challenges him for omitting Jack’s violence, and he reluctantly grants her permission to pursue her thesis with Belinda.

Belinda Kim – The RISD curator becomes Raquel’s mentor and thesis advisor. She introduces Raquel to a broader network of forgotten artists of color and encourages her to “be angry at the system, then fix it.”

Family – Raquel’s mother Irma and sister Toni provide emotional grounding. Irma’s return to school and relationship with Dolores mirror Raquel’s own growth. Her friends Mavette, Marcus, and Betsaida form a support system, especially after the haircut incident.

Anita de Monte (ghost) – Although Raquel never meets Anita alive, Anita’s spirit watches over her. Anita feels a kinship with Raquel’s ambition and decides to protect her, even sending a mouse as a gift.

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Choosing to confront Temple – Risks her academic standing but secures permission to write a thesis that re‑centers Anita. Consequence: She wins the prize and publishes in Art in America.
2. Ending her relationship with Nick – After the haircut, she realizes the relationship is based on his control. Consequence: She reclaims her autonomy and focuses on her work.
3. Declining grad school for a writing job – Forgoes a traditional academic path. Consequence: She enters the art world as a journalist, gaining access and influence while staying true to her mission.
4. Embracing her own worth – When she receives the early Anita photograph, she decides to keep it as a reminder of her own value. This choice symbolizes her full acceptance of her identity and her place in art history.

Theme/Symbol Connections

• Erasure of women artists – Raquel’s discovery of Anita’s erased work directly embodies this theme. Her thesis functions as a corrective.
• Class and privilege – Raquel’s interactions with the Art History Girls, Nick’s family, and Professor Temple highlight the gatekeeping of elite institutions.
• Identity and belonging – She struggles with her place at Brown, feeling like an outsider until she finds a kindred spirit in Anita.
• Haunting and legacy – Anita’s ghost is drawn to Raquel’s energy, and Raquel becomes the vehicle for Anita’s legacy to be restored.
• Power and control – The haircut scene symbolizes Nick’s attempted control over Raquel’s body and identity; by reclaiming her hair—and her thesis—she seizes power back.

5 Book‑Specific Questions and Answers

1. What first sparks Raquel’s interest in Anita de Monte?
After meeting Nick’s mother, Mrs. Fitzsimmons dismissively compares Raquel to Anita and implies Anita was “lucky” to marry Jack. Raquel feels disgust at the woman’s casual cruelty and becomes determined to learn Anita’s full story.

2. Why does Raquel cut her hair, and what does it signify?
At Nick’s suggestion, Raquel initially agrees to a trim, but he cuts over a foot without permission. This act reveals the power imbalance in their relationship. Later, she interprets it as a moment of submission and uses it to fuel her decision to leave him.

3. How does Raquel convince Professor Temple to let her write her thesis on Anita?
She confronts him directly, arguing that it is ethically wrong to teach Jack Martin while omitting his domestic violence and Anita’s influence. When Temple dismisses her as a “minor artist,” Raquel insists she will “make” the scholarship herself. Struck by her conviction, he grants permission for Belinda Kim to advise her.

4. What is the outcome of Raquel’s honors thesis?
Her thesis, “Form and Figure: Revisiting Jack Martin and Anita de Monte,” wins the Department Chair’s Prize and leads to a co‑authored feature in Art in America. The thesis also forms the basis for the RISD exhibition Excavating Anita.

5. What job does Raquel take after graduation, and why?
She accepts an entry‑level writing position at Art in America instead of attending graduate school. She feels that grad school “will always be there” and wants to stay open to second chances and unexpected opportunities, embodying the lesson she learned from Anita’s re‑emergence.