payment page
Bless Me, Ultima follows Antonio Márez’s journey from youth to young adulthood as he decides what he believes in and what kind of man he wants to become. As the child of parents from two different parts of Chicano culture, Antonio feels caught between the Márez and Luna ways of life. He feels that his only options are to become a wild and free Márez man of the llano or a quiet, calm Luna. Additionally, his mother strongly wishes for him to become a Catholic priest, meaning that he must adopt a Catholic worldview with strict ideas about sin and salvation. Because his mother’s Catholicism dominates the house, Antonio furthermore absorbs the idea that growing up means becoming sinful because of the association of knowledge with the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The novel’s inciting incident—Ultima’s arrival at the family’s home—offers Antonio another path. Over the course of the story, Antonio witnesses multiple deaths that challenge the simplistic morality he’s been raised with. Ultima’s patient wisdom guides Antonio through the resulting grief and moral upheaval toward a manhood authentic to himself.
Early in the novel, Antonio experiences several things that make him afraid to grow up. First, he witnesses Lupito’s murder. Even though Lupito himself is a murderer, Antonio recognizes that mental illness, not evil, has made him kill. Nevertheless, the adult men of the village murder Lupito. Antonio’s brothers’ hostile attitudes when they return from war also worry him. They explain that going to war has made them men, and they no longer have patience for their family. Additionally, Antonio learns about the golden carp and the myth of the apocalyptic flood. Although Antonio finds the golden carp compelling, he struggles to reconcile it with his Catholic faith. He also panics because he believes sin is intrinsic in growing up, but he doesn’t want to contribute to the town flooding. These events make the loss of innocence inherent in growing up seem like a degradation of his goodness. Although Ultima offers Antonio no clear solutions, she promises that growing and learning will help him answer for himself.
The tension in the novel rises when the Trementina daughters put a curse on Antonio’s Uncle Lucas, and Ultima cures him. Ultima’s courage and selflessness throughout this episode provide Antonio a model for dealing with conflict. She first approaches Tenorio directly, despite the danger, to offer him an opportunity to change or repent. Even as Tenorio threatens her, she stands strong because she knows she is on the side of righteousness. Finally, the magic she orchestrates is meant to cure Uncle Lucas instead of actively attack the Trementina sisters; their injury is merely a side effect. Throughout the rest of the novel, Antonio incorporates elements of these principles in how he carries himself. He faces challenging situations bravely because he wants to help others and do good in the world.
Antonio does struggle to integrate these new truths into his childhood belief system and he realizes they do not meld seamlessly. Narciso’s death highlights how the town’s judgment of his alcoholism allows people to dismiss his warnings and wisdom. While studying for confirmation, Antonio realizes that the easy judgment of Catholicism is unfair to Florence, whose sincere atheism has grown from injustice. He therefore stands up for Florence against their classmates because he believes it is the right thing to do, emulating Ultima and Narciso. When taking his first communion offers him no clear explanations for why some things merit forgiveness and others do not, Antonio realizes that, just as Ultima said, he will have to find his own answers. Florence’s death thus leaves Antonio in despair and confusion. He refuses to go to Florence’s funeral because he knows the church has rejected Florence but has no model for grief outside of Catholicism.
With Antonio’s faith broken down, Ultima encourages him to go to El Puerto to study farming with his uncles. She explains El Puerto. Gabriel assures Antoniothat he can be both Luna and Márez, believe in both the golden carp and Catholicism, so long as he makes his beliefs his own. Therefore, when Tenorio attacks him, Antonio faces the situation with bravery that is true to himself. Instead of antagonizing Tenorio, Antonio instead focuses on escaping so that he can warn Ultima. This tense moment builds to the climax of the novel, when Tenorio shoots Ultima’s owl. Antonio describes this shot as destroying his last vestige of childhood, leaving Ultima’s However, Antonio is now prepared to face the world bravely through his sadness.
