Aura is a story about regret and second chances, redemption if you will. Felipe, the protagonist, answers an ad in the paper for a translation job. Consuelo, his new boss, asks him to translate the journal of her dead husband. Throughout his work, Felipe learns some extremely intimate details about Consuelo and the general and he falls in love with the old lady's niece. By the end of the story, he sleeps with Aura, the niece, only to discover that she has transformed into Consuelo, and he transforms into General Llorente.
In his work, Felipe learns that Consuelo couldn't have children. She dearly wanted them, though, and always regretted not having any. Whether by design or supernatural interference, the circumstances of Felipe translating her husband's journal present the perfect opportunity for her to vicariously fulfill that dream. The more Felipe reads, the more he intensely identifies with the deceased man. In the same way, Aura starts to change in subtle ways, becoming increasingly older and wiser in mindset and disposition. They both begin to embody the previous romantic relationship of Consuelo and the general. Finally, when they consummate their love for one another the transformation is complete. Thus, the old woman can be with her husband again and relive all the experiences she missed out on the first time around.
Time is the focus of the book. Where did it go? What is left? How can one get it back once it's gone? Consuelo is the classic figure of age. She's loved and lost and isn't satisfied to say goodbye. Perhaps what Fuentes is communicating through this novel is that the flow of time is repetitive. Through the next generation, Consuelo finds what she lacked in her lifetime. Time, then, spirals, following a circular path and always ascending. Whatever Consuelo didn't accomplish in her lifetime can be accomplished by Aura on her own but on a more advanced level.
