Viper of the Cross follows two main characters: Ricardo and Maruja. They seem to be protagonists; however, this may be complicated because they may not be described as morally good. Diderot is the antagonist, and it has been rumored that Diderot is a direct reflection of the playwright, Julio Escobar. He often writes in characters that share his own opinions and mindsets: in this case, a misogynistic one.
The first scene of Viper of the Cross opens up in Maruja’s house, which is a well-decorated parlor. It seems like an upper middle class home. The focus is on the shiny cross worn around Maruja’s neck. The play wrestles with excessively violent men, and their relationships with women, whom they often call “whores”. Essentially, the plot line follows Ricardo falling into extreme debt, and it seems that the only way he will be able to overcome it is to sell the cross necklace that he gifted to Maruja. Diderot feeds Ricardo these ideas, and tells Ricardo that Maruja would never love him as much as she loved her jewelry and money; that she would choose jewelry over him any day.
Due to the extreme pressure of the debt, and a struggling relationship, Ricardo kills himself at the end of scene I. Scene II opens up at Ricardo’s wake. Ricardo’s father enters, and has no idea that his son has died. When he finds out, he experiences rage, and wants justice for whoever has killed him. However, he then finds out that it was a suicide. Maruja is ultimately blamed for the death of Ricardo. The climax of the play is soon after, when Ricardo’s father kills Maruja, and frames her death as a suicide. The curtain falls.