The main characters of Balún Canán by Rosario Castellanos embody different concepts of time. Matilde tries to reverse its motion. The time flow is the enemy that she tries to dismantle. Ernesto looks back at his past and does everything to bury it and to move as swiftly as possible toward the future. The nanny differs from the other two characters, remains indifferent to the past and to the future. The present time is her home and she does not wish to change it.
