I'd say that what has most astonished me from this novel has been Hackwell's ability to manipulate most of the female characters. Hackwell is a very interesting character, he really did become the villain of the novel and quite a player as well. He has wooed Lavinia, Mrs. Hackwell (who dies) and Mrs. Norval however this does not suffice him and he attempts to win Lola. I really do feel sorry for Lola for she is taken advantage of, manipulated and lied to many times throughout the story. I just wish that she and Julian could be together, that's probably the most annoying part of the story. Her relationship with Julian is so difficult to maintain.
It also makes me think about the means of communication that were available in that day. All of the telegraphing, letter writing and traveling is quite comical, it seems that all the characters are constantly writing to one another and taking trains to maintain in contact. Ruiz de Burton does not make much of a fuss of how long these processes take or how they happen, it is simply stated, for example that Isaac goes to Mexico and that he returns. Ruiz de Burton does not romanticize the journeys or the waiting between letters or telegraphs nor does she hint at how long it would take for Isaac to travel to and from Mexico.
Speaking of Isaac, I'm confused about him. When he found the manuscript how did he not figure out that it was about Lola? It's really too bad that he didn't figure it out because it made everything more difficult. But, at the same time Ruiz de Burton did that on purpose to make more of a story I guess.
I enjoyed this novel way more than I would have expected. I thought Ruiz de Burton's use of the narrator that sometimes addressed the reader was clever, it made me feel more involved. While this novel had its share of drama and could be considered to be a little telenovela-like, the ending did not match the rest of the novel's drama. I too was lost by all the political ramblings in the conclusion and would have preferred a happily-ever-after story about Lola and Julian. But I guess the romantic plots of this book were secondary to the political plot that runs throughout the novel.
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I agree with all your comments....you hint at a lack of realism or research in the novel. The lack of description regarding certain technical aspects of the plot, like journeys and distances, modes of communication, political workings etc. make me think the novel would have been a lot more convincing if it had been researched a bit more. The attitude of the writer is quite obvious, but I feel she lost touch with reality a little bit in her efforts to shove her ideas down the readers' throats (in a relatively nonviolent way). There were many political and economic reasons for the events that she describes in the book which she doesn't mention...I think this would made the book really ring true. It's a fairy tale, in a sense (another person described it as Cinderella). I think this takes away from the clearly political agenda that Maria Ruiz de Burton has.
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