Posted by It’s one of the unanswered questions you have after watching Leave The World Behind: what is the Spanish lady saying?
Leave The World Behind leaves us with so many questions that we may need days after watching it before we can fully understand all the elements. The deer, the teeth falling out, the noise, and the love you bug are just a few symbols in the plot that need a separate explanation. The movie has a deep meaning, and we invite you to read our complete analysis here to discover the right mindset and interpretation. However, one single element has triggered a lot of doubts: who is the Spanish lady Clay meets on the road, and what is she desperately saying?
Who is the Spanish lady in Leave The World Behind, and what is she saying?
In the first half of Leave The World Behind, Clay drives his car, trying to reach the shop and gather more information about what happened. However, he gets lost: as we explained in our analysis, Clay is the symbol of a “useless man” when an unexpected event takes out all the things we take for granted. While trying to return home, a lady stops him and starts speaking chaotically to him. She speaks Spanish, a language Clay doesn’t understand. Clay is willing to help, but the complex communication makes him unable to decide what to do. Overwhelmed by frustration, he says “sorry” and leaves without helping her.
We don’t know who the Spanish lady is in Leave The World Behind. The movie and the book don’t answer this question clearly. However, in the book, after Clay tells George what happened, George suspects she may be Rosa, his maid. In any case, this is one of the many unanswered questions of the plot. It could be her, or just another person trying to survive doomsday.
Nevertheless, we do know what she’s saying: the Spanish lady is desperately asking for help. She didn’t see any other human except Clay, and she hopes he can help her somehow. When Clay is driving, she yells, “Please! Sir! I need help, please! Please, sir!” Then Clay stops the car, and this is what the Spanish lady is saying while Clay tries to understand her:
Thank God I found someone! I’m trying to get back to my home! I’m lost! I’ve been walking for a while! I need to use your phone! You’re the first person I’ve seen all day! We have to get out of here!
I just saw a plane that was spraying red gas in the vicinity. I saw some deer, more than 50. They were coming out of the woods. Please! I need to go home, sir. A military plane appeared and fled. There’s no one around! Is it a chemical attack?
It’s an authentic rush of words that leaves Clay helpless. There is no chance to understand each other, especially in that moment of panic. Clay cannot decide what to do, so he instinctively steps back from that situation and leaves. The Spanish lady is left to her destiny, and she can’t help screaming at Clay with even more energy: “Don’t leave me here, sir! I’m scared and I don’t want to be alone! Sir, I don’t want to be alone! No, sir! No! No!”
In the logic of Leave The World Behind, the Spanish lady represents an element of uncontrolled chaos, and we are not supposed to understand what she is saying. After all, it’s the end of the world, and we are all left without tools and one only urge: survival.