Think of the Spanish conquistadors searching for El Dorado , the gold rush miners, or the modern gambler chasing a jackpot. That is a chimera.
He refuses to grieve. He refuses to accept that Beniamina is gone. So, he digs. He digs into the literal earth, trying to tunnel his way back to her. This is the tragedy of La Chimera : We are all Arthur. We all have a hole we are trying to fill with dirt that will never hold. La Chimera
Arthur lives in a ramshackle collective of unemployed raiders and, crucially, Italia (Carol Duarte), a pregnant singer who becomes his foil. While Arthur looks down (to death), Italia looks forward (to new life). The film ends with a matriarchal resolution: the future belongs not to those who steal from graves but to those who nurture the living. Think of the Spanish conquistadors searching for El