In Aura, Felipe tells himself that he was drawn to the job listing for the 4000 pesos, but the attraction goes deeper than that. It's just his interest in acting as a historian either. Felipe has a fascination with the conquerors of the past, the Spanish who colonized the new world, and deep down he longs for a similar glory and grand accomplishment. His current place in life is humiliating, he is essentially at the mercy of school children, so he longs for something more. And as the story progresses, so too does Felipe's interest in the General Llorente. Becoming Llorente, as he seems to do in the end, is actually the realization of Felipe's dreams, and I think it was for that reason Consuelo targeted him, or people like him -- she needed someone who wanted to become the past, relive it with her.
But a Spanish conqueror must have significance beyond Felipe's character, making some statement about the culture or attitude of Mexico at the time. The meaning seems to be that intellectuals and academics have an obsession with the achievements of the past, and would rather wallow in nostalgia than move forward. Similarly, Felipe chooses to pour over musty volumes in a dark, cramped house rather than be out living new experiences. But, as we can see with the decay of Consuelo and how she drains Felipe of his youthful opportunity, this obsession with the past is ultimately self-destructive.
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