Live-in Maid
(lit. bed inside) phrase used to define the condition
of an in-house, full-time maid.
Dora (51) is the maid of Mrs. Beba (59) and has worked
and lived with her for 35 years. Beba used to be a
well-to-do socialite but successive economic and personal
crises have worn her out, reducing her to a purveyor
of decadence. Nowadays she finds herself forced to
sell door-to-door beauty products. Her thick gold
earrings, and her maid, Dora, are the last bastions
of a lifestyle of which she refuses to let go.
Dora came at 17 from the Chaco province to work as
a full time maid at Beba’s apartment. Since
then she has managed to start building a house in
one of the shantytowns outside Buenos Aires. However,
she is unable to complete the construction of her
own house because Beba owes Dora six months of salary.
Dora, tired of listening to Beba’s promises
of payment, is now determined to resign. Beba asks
her for more time to get the money together. Dora
accepts. During this period Beba tries to mine the
confidence of Dora, discouraging her not to venture
into a new phase of her life.
It is now that the sharpest aspects of their relationship
come into view. Though doomed by class prejudices
and abusive power codes there is also a bond cemented
by mutual love from three decades of living together.
Finally, Beba gets the money to cancel the debt and
offers some cash in advance to make her maid stay.
But Dora has already made up her mind. Dora leaves
the apartment to live with Miguel, her weekend boyfriend,
at her new home on the city outskirts. Meanwhile,
at Beba’s apartment, the energy, and telephone
services are suspended due to lack of payment.
Summer arrives. Beba has to rent out her apartment
to be able pay her debts. She goes in a moving truck
to Dora’s house, with the intention of giving
her all of her furniture. Beba has no place to live.
Dora invites her to stay in her house and live together
again.
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