Su único hijo

The narrative follows Emma Valcárcel, an only child whose youthful elopement with Bonifacio Reyes, a gentle, romantic scrivener, is foiled; she is confined in a convent and later returns wealthy after her father's death. Determined to prove her innocence, she marries twice: first an older foreign husband who soon dies, then Bonifacio after the family locates him abroad. Marriage disappoints her expectations, prompting renewed aristocratic pride, restoration of ancestral portraits and an idealized passion for a heroic forebear, while Bonifacio seeks solace in music and a modest provincial post. The novel traces social pretensions, unfulfilled romantic ideals, and tensions between appearance and inner longing.