Character Analysis
Euthanasia and Last Words
Ol' doc Ferreiro; he may not be an idealist rebel hiding out in the woods, but he carries their same spirit of freedom around with him in the house…proving that even old saw-bones can be political dissidents.
In a house where everyone's terrified to stand up to Vidal, Ferreiro refuses to bow down. He lets Vidal have it for making his wife travel in such a late stage of pregnancy, he questions how Vidal knows his child is a boy, and he goes to the rebel camp in the woods even though getting caught would (and eventually does) cost him his life.
Ferreiro shows that there are many ways to oppose an institution. He doesn't need to be staging rebellion: he simply helps the sick, the wounded…and the pregnant.
And doctor's final words are some of the most thematically important to the film. Check it out:
VIDAL: Why did you do it?
FERREIRO: It was the only thing I could do.
VIDAL: No, you could have obeyed me.
FERREIRO: I could have, but I did not.
VIDAL: But it would have been better for you. I do not understand. Why didn't you obey me?
FERREIRO: To obey without thinking—just like that—well, that's something only people like you can do…Captain.
Ouch. Vidal's going to need some serious treatment for that first-degree burn.