Following his encounter with Don José, the narrator travels on to Cordova where he examines the manuscripts held at a convent of Dominican monks. He explores the town during the evenings, and partakes in the popular pastime of watching the women of the town bathe in the river from atop a quay. The women assemble on the riverbanks and wait until the toll of a church bell sounds to mark nightfall before stripping. This way, the observers are never able to discern more than the barest shapes and outlines as the women complete their ablutions. The narrator heard tell that a former bell ringer was once bribed to ring the church bell early, before dusk had truly fallen, prompting the women to bathe in full view of the men atop the pier. In the narrator’s time, however, the bellringer is known to be incorruptible.

One evening as the narrator is smoking on the quay, he notes a beautiful woman he would soon learn to be Carmen sitting nearby. He extinguishes his cigar out of courtesy, but she tells him there’s no need as she enjoys the smell of tobacco and smokes herself when she can procure her preferred type.