Aunque la primera entrevista fue un fracaso, la segunda le devolvió el orgullo y le quitó la frustración.

Because here aunque introduces a real, known fact: the first interview actually was a failure.

• Aunque la primera entrevista fue un fracaso... = Although the first interview was a failure...

With aunque, Spanish uses:

• indicative for something presented as factual or certain
• subjunctive for something hypothetical, uncertain, or not yet confirmed

Compare:

• Aunque fue un fracaso... = even though it was a failure
• Aunque fuera un fracaso... = even if it were a failure / even though it might have been a failure

So in this sentence, fue is used because the speaker is stating a fact.

Both can be possible in different contexts, but fue fits better here because it presents the interview as a completed event with a clear outcome.

• fue un fracaso = it turned out to be a failure / it was a failure
• era un fracaso = it was a failure, with more of a descriptive or background feel

In this sentence, the first interview is being judged as a finished event, so the preterite (fue) sounds natural.

A rough contrast:

• La entrevista fue un fracaso. → the whole event ended badly
• La entrevista era un fracaso desde el principio. → it was already a failure from the beginning

Because fracaso is a noun here, and Spanish normally uses an article with predicate nouns like this.

• fue un fracaso = it was a failure

English sometimes drops articles in places where Spanish keeps them, but here Spanish needs un.

Other similar examples:

• Fue un éxito. = It was a success.
• Fue una sorpresa. = It was a surprise.
• Fue un desastre. = It was a disaster.

Because Spanish can use an ordinal like primera, segunda, etc. as a stand-in for the noun when the noun is already understood.

So:

• la primera entrevista = the first interview
• la segunda = the second one

This is very common and natural. Spanish avoids repetition when the meaning is clear.

You could say:

• Aunque la primera entrevista fue un fracaso, la segunda...

instead of repeating:

• Aunque la primera entrevista fue un fracaso, la segunda entrevista...

Both are possible, but the version without repetition is smoother.

Le is an indirect object pronoun. In this sentence, it means something like:

• to him
• to her
• to you (formal singular)

So:

• la segunda le devolvió el orgullo = the second one gave him/her back his/her pride
• y le quitó la frustración = and took away his/her frustration

The exact person depends on the wider context, because le itself does not tell you whether it is masculine or feminine.

Because in this sentence the person affected is treated as an indirect object.

Structure:

• devolver algo a alguien = to give something back to someone
• quitar algo a alguien = to take something away from someone

So:

• devolvió el orgullo a esa persona → le devolvió el orgullo
• quitó la frustración a esa persona → le quitó la frustración

That is why le appears with both verbs.

You might hear omission in some contexts, but repeating le is the most natural and clearest option here because there are two separate verbs:

• le devolvió
• le quitó

Repeating the pronoun helps show that both actions affect the same person.

So this sentence sounds very natural:

• la segunda le devolvió el orgullo y le quitó la frustración

It is especially common in Spanish to repeat clitic pronouns with coordinated verbs.

Because Spanish often uses the definite article instead of a possessive when the owner is already clear from context.

Here, le already tells us that these feelings belong to that person, so Spanish does not need to say su.

That is why:

• le devolvió el orgullo
• le quitó la frustración

sounds more natural than:

• le devolvió su orgullo
• le quitó su frustración

Using su is possible, but it can sound heavier, more emphatic, or sometimes more ambiguous.

This pattern is very common in Spanish, not just with feelings but also with body parts and personal qualities:

• Le duele la cabeza. = His/Her head hurts.
• Le lavó las manos al niño. = She washed the child’s hands.
• Le devolvió la confianza. = It gave him/her back confidence.

Literally, devolver means to return or to give back.

In this sentence it is used more figuratively:

• le devolvió el orgullo = it gave him/her back pride
• more naturally in English: it restored his/her pride

So devolver can be used with physical things:

• Me devolvió el libro. = He/She gave me the book back.

But also with emotional or abstract things:

• Le devolvió la esperanza. = It gave him/her hope back.
• Le devolvió la confianza. = It restored his/her confidence.

Yes, it is a natural way to say that something removed or took away frustration.

• quitar = to remove, to take away
• le quitó la frustración = it took away his/her frustration

Spanish often uses quitar with emotions, discomfort, or problems:

• Me quitó el miedo. = It took away my fear.
• Eso me quita el estrés. = That removes my stress.
• Le quitó las dudas. = It removed his/her doubts.

So here the sentence creates a nice contrast:

• le devolvió el orgullo
• le quitó la frustración

One thing is restored, and the other is removed.

Because with a conjugated verb, object pronouns normally go before the verb in Spanish.

So:

• le devolvió
• le quitó

not:

• devolvió le
• quitó le

This is the standard position with normal finite verbs.

Pronouns can attach to the end only with:

• infinitives: devolverle
• gerunds: devolviéndole
• affirmative commands: devuélvele

But in this sentence the verbs are fully conjugated in the preterite, so the pronouns go before them.

Yes. It creates a very clear contrast between two attempts or experiences.

The structure is elegant and very common:

• Aunque la primera..., la segunda...

It highlights a change from a bad result to a better one:

• first interview → failure
• second interview → emotional recovery

So grammatically it is simple, but stylistically it helps show progress or redemption very neatly.