by little he isolates himself from others until he begins to associate only with nonconformists and intellectuals who think like himself and with whom he forms a reactionary bubble against the atmosphere of the times. In the third part, the character shows an apparent change of conduct motivated by his love for María Almeida. Alberto intensifies his activity as a sculptor and finishes a Creole Venus that doesn't completely satisfy him. Despite that he stages an unsuccessful exhibition in a coffee shop near to the Plaza Bolívar in Caracas. Alberto Soria soon suffers an inexplicable change regarding the love that he feels for María Almeida and begins to experience strange mood swings due to unfounded jealousy, a product of his own mind. The third part of the novel ends with the death of his father. The fourth part of the novel narrates the start and the evolution of the love between Alberto Soria and Teresa Farías, a strange and adulterous woman. Alberto begins to make a sculpture of his lover, but is soon discovered by his girlfriend and his sister. Soon a new civil war plunges the country in anarchy. After the triumph of the revolution the country falls in the hands of the populace and the military. Alberto goes to the School of Fine Arts, which has been turned into a barracks, and finds that his works have been mutilated and desecrated by the soldiers. At this point he gives up everything and decides to emigrate to safeguard his aesthetic ideals. See also Latin American literature Venezuelan literature Venezuelan novels 1901 novels Novels set in Venezuela