Pedro returns to Mexico City a changed man. He marries, tries to live honestly, but is constantly haunted by his past. The novel ends with him dying of illness, surrounded by his children, offering the moral lesson that a good education is the only true wealth.
Para explorar más sobre la literatura de esta época, te recomiendo investigar la literatura mexicana del siglo XIX o profundizar en otros trabajos de José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi.
To appreciate the , you must understand when it was written. Fernández de Lizardi published it in 1816 (in parts, as a serialized novel). At that time, Mexico was still a Spanish colony, fighting for independence (the Mexican War of Independence ended in 1821).