The theme of Duality in Rodolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima
Rodolfo Anaya’s “Bless Me, Ultima” explores the duality in a myriad of situations and controversies. For instance, he explores the contrast between indigenous religion referred to as mysticism and Catholicism. In this case, Antonio seeks to find his own identity within the context of his beliefs, self-awareness, and family. Antonio’s parents administer conflicting views making it difficult for Antonio to accept their belief systems. He faces stiff pressure from his parents and other individuals who want him to perform specific duties to secure his future.
This situation generates a conflict in a culture which immensely influences Antonio’s early life. For instance, Marez and Luna conflict; the Luna practice farming and worship the moon and the earth while the Marez, on the other hand, are free-spirited individuals whose lifestyle surrounds horses. Antonio observes his brothers leave their family behind to become Marez. He, at some point, felt that the Marez blood pushes them into such actions.
“It was true, I thought, it is the Marez blood in us that touches us with this urge to wonder. Like the restless, seeking sea” (Anaya 40).
However, Antonio did not wish such a life for himself and could not identify with being a Marez, unlike his brothers. Ultima influences these new perceptions by Antonio. Ultima is an elderly Curandera with the capacity to use the spiritual powers from her ancestors. Ultima is a mysterious and wise character, and her energy is misunderstood within the society to the extent of being referred to as a witch. She teaches Antonio about tolerance and understanding, and the applicability of different belief systems that validly offer diverse world understanding.
This influences Antonio to become different from his parents and brothers. This scenario presents a duality between Antonio’s beliefs and that of his family. He opts not to push himself into something he is unwilling to do and instead pushes to incorporate both Marez and Luna’s beliefs into his way of life. Consequently, despite his conflict with his family, Antonio gains the capacity to maintain a good relationship with his parents, uncles, and brothers.
Another element of duality in the novel relates to the conflict between good and evil. The relationship between Tenorio and Ultima significantly shows this. From the onset, Ultima is characterized as the moral compass and hence revered for the capacity to protect the community from evil. On the other hand, Tenorio is Ultima’s arch-rival, just like his daughter; cruel and evil. At the end of the novel, despite both characters’ demise, Tenorio’s evilness and Ultima’s goodness present a duality scenario.
In Antonio’s new reality, good and evil are not easily distinguishable. For instance, he realizes that despite Ultima’s goodness, she had killed two of Tenorio’s daughters using pagan powers, a contradiction of the prevailing Catholic beliefs. On the other hand, Tenorio’s real evil is also not easy to evaluate. For instance, his intentions to kill Ultima are based on her anger and wrath after his daughter’s death. The characters of Ultima and Tenorio are, therefore, juxtaposed to present an element of good versus evil to encapsulate the theme of duality.
Works Cited
Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless me, Ultima. Grand Central Publishing, 2012.