Freedom In Bless Me Ultima

Is there a lack of freedom in stability or a lack of stability in freedom? In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio’s coming of age is challenged domestically by the father/mother tension of freedom versus stability through their parental expectations. Generally in life, children seek to please their parents in everything they do. It is often conflicting parental expectations that send a child into an overwhelming state of distress wondering why they try so hard to attain the standards of both but inevitably end up disappointing one or the other. Maria and Gabriel are prime examples of parents that are completely disconnected from their family as a whole but most importantly detached from their son due to their unwillingness to compromise.

Gabriel and Maria’s arguments are portrayed through the lens of Antonio. Gabriel Marez, Antonio’s father, was a vaquero all his life. His last name signifies

Ultima is Antonio’s springboard to answers when his questioning mind is overwhelmed with anxiety and when his quarreling parents are incapable of complying with one another. “On Sunday morning I always stayed in bed and listened to their argument. They always quarreled on Sunday.” The repetition of the word Sunday places emphasis on the idea of religion and how it can foster ambivalence. “I felt more attached to Ultima than my own mother.”(123) Having to witness and tend to him at his birth has made their relationship essentially inextricable. Ultima gave him the wisdom he desired and marked his transcendence into a cultivated person. “I knew that if she didn't answer my question that that part of life was not yet ready to reveal itself to me.”(42) As Antonio’s curiosity and faith in Ultima grew his Knowledge through his experiences evolved. Ultima taught him that patience was a necessity and the answers that you want will reveal themselves in due