Bless Me, Ultima

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1972

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-19

Chapters 20-22

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Juniper Trees

Juniper trees proliferate in the New Mexican landscape of Bless Me, Ultima. Initially, they symbolize death and the accompanying fear. As Antonio contextualizes death as part of the grand cycle of life, however, the juniper trees come to represent a natural part of this cycle, both the site of death and the site of rebirth. Anaya’s use of juniper trees also highlights the cyclical nature of time. His choice to include a tree as the site of so many transformative experiences also highlights the vital role that nature plays in human lives.

Juniper trees appear in a number of places throughout the novel, and each appearance carries symbolic significance. Ultima links juniper back to Comanche burial traditions when she has Gabriel and Antonio build a platform out of juniper branches and uses it to set the trapped souls of the three Comanches free. Several key characters die near juniper trees, and Lupito’s death occurs near the juniper that stands by the river. At this stage, Antonio still fears death, so he flees from Lupito’s dying body. In Chapter 14, Tenorio shoots Narciso under a juniper tree, but by this point, Antonio has undergone some maturation and is able to stay with Narciso and bless his soul. As Narciso fades, he murmurs, “It is good to die […] beneath the juniper” (170).

Finally, when Ultima’s owl is shot, Antonio buries it under a forked juniper tree at her request. Though this act marks Ultima’s death, Antonio is able to contextualize her death in the cycle of universal harmony. Her passing coincides with the rebirth of her spiritual legacy as she hands the torch down to Antonio, trusting him to carry on her mission of helping others.

Ultima’s Owl

Ultima’s owl is her familiar, a spirit that carries the essence of her soul and assists her with her magic. Antonio’s relationship to the owl represents the way humans misattribute evil to things they don’t understand and the way that fear is conquered by knowledge.

Owls are traditionally associated with witches. Some cultures believe owls are witches in animal form while others associate their presence with omens of death or misfortune. This association initially scares Antonio, who worries that the owl is a disguise for Ultima’s true form as an evil witch. Anaya plays with this association by having Antonio conflate the owl’s hooting with the haunting cries of la Llorona, lending it an ambiguously ominous presence. Yet he never truly allows the reader to doubt the owl’s goodness: It is an extension of Ultima, and Ultima is undoubtedly good. The day that Antonio meets her, he’s soothed by a dream in which the owl lifts the Virgin on its back, and the Virgin “[smiles] at the goodness of the owl” (15).

After Antonio witnesses the murder of Lupito, he discovers that the owl has been watching over him. When it sings, he feels “Ultima’s spirit [bathing him] with its resolution” (23). The owl continues to serve as a protective extension of Ultima’s presence throughout the novel, and its soft song comforts Antonio during several frightening events.

Antonio’s fear of the owl dissolves after he bonds with Ultima, and he comes to love the owl as an extension of his beloved healer. This transition exemplifies the novel’s consensus that what humans call evil is often misattributed fear of “[what] we don’t understand” (248). By gaining an understanding of the owl and its keeper, Antonio dispels his fear of death and the unknown.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

The statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which occupies a place of honor on María’s altar, is the figure Antonio turns to when he doubts the fairness of God. The Virgin offers unconditional forgiveness, representing the connection that Antonio feels to femininity and Catholicism. Culturally, she also provides a connection between Indigenous and Mexican culture facilitated by Spanish colonization.

The Virgin is an embodiment of the Virgin Mary who first appeared to St. Juan Diego (whose birth name was Cuauhtlatoatzin), the first Indigenous saint. She is a widely beloved symbol of Mexico, with her likeness appearing in murals, on scared candles, and in shrines. Some believe that the spot in which she appeared was the former site of a temple honoring Tonantzin, the Aztec goddess of the Earth. Notably, she is depicted with darker skin than other representations of the Virgin, which some interpret as confirming her mixed Aztec Indigenous and Hispanic identity. Antonio’s reverence of the Virgin foreshadows the way he will grow closer to the Indigenous roots of Chicanx culture throughout the narrative.

Antonio looks up to the Virgin as a representation of divine femininity, believing that “only women really [know] how to forgive” (137). The connection he feels to her reflects his broader connection with the feminine qualities of gentleness and mercy, which he will learn to incorporate into his masculinity as he matures.