When he was a child, Archibaldo believed he had killed his governess with the magic powers of a music box. As an adult, the mild-mannered Archibaldo still believes he can slay the women--in fact, he confesses to several murders. His repeatedly frustrated sadistic intentions provide the core of one of Buñuel's most out-right comedies, but the exaggerated happy ending only underscores the director's dry pessimism. Critic Raymond Durgnat compares Archibaldo to Francisco in El: "Like Francisco, Archibaldo adores purity and execrates female appetites (incarnated by the splendidly vulgar Patrizia). Like Francisco, he believes himself spiritually superior to the rabble. But where Francisco takes morality seriously, Archibaldo consciously entertains his egoistic disdain of morality.... Instead of projecting his rapacity onto others, he assumes it in himself. Where Francisco is devout, Archibaldo is an artist.... His crimes are...his very conscious, aesthetic attempts to revive a delicious sensation...."