Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

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"Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Children believe what their parents tell them but as they get older they start to question that which used to be unquestionable. Bless Me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya about a young Chicano boy, Antonio Juan Marez y Luna, who is growing up and seeing the world for how cruel it really is. A wise old curandera, or faith healer, Ultima, arrives just before Tony receives his first glimpse into the world of men. Ultima gives Tony spiritual healing throughout the book, as well as advice to keep him in harmony with nature and his spirit. The more Tony sees of death in the little town of Guadalupe, New Mexico, the more he questions the Christian God and turns towards the golden carp, a pagan god of the river. Rudolfo Anaya is indicating that each man must choose his own religion and destiny, by depicting the changes Tony feels after the deaths of Lupito, Narciso and Florence. Beforehand, Tony never questioned his faith but as each person died Tony turned farther and farther away from Catholicism and eventually even away from the pagan religion. Tony questioned his destiny and effectiveness as a priest, had doubts of the Catholic God and eventually of everything he had ever believed in, as Anaya shows that one strict religion isn?t always the right way or the only way.

The first step in Tony?s spiritual journey is when he questions his family?s long-standing belief in the Catholic religion and his own destiny to follow their dreams of him becoming a priest. Tony doubts his abilities as a priest, even though he is not one, because his mother dreams for him to become a priest. Subsequently, he believes that he should have been able to save Lupito?s soul from wandering the river, because he will one day be required to. Whereas, ?A priest could have saved Lupito.'; (23), Tony feels guilty that he wasn?t able to fulfill his duty even though it wasn?t his. This shows that the destiny at first laid out by Catholicism may not be the one that is best suited to Tony. By not saving Lupito or his soul, the town Tony lives in is no longer pure in his eyes. The river is the lifeline of the town and once it is stained then the town will also be tainted with the murder of Lupito. Tony asks, ?How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river!'; (23), and in doing so also questions why God puts such obstac...

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...l and harsh, or that the golden carp could not have saved Florence even though the river was its home, in spite of the fact that his parents and friends believed deeply in these powers and still put all their faith in them. Ultima, it seems, is all that is left to believe in, because she has always been truthful, and protective. The vengeance that Tony wants on Tenorio is God?s alone; however, with a new religion following in Ultima?s practices Tony could punish Tenorio if he was still alive, and have vengeance for the deaths of his friends and not be punished for it because Tony would only be killing a witch. All humans must change and because they must, the world they live in, including their religions, must change with them or be lost in time. The Catholic religion failed to change into what Tony needed, and so did the pagan religion, so he stopped belieiving in them; however he saw Ultima?s religion as a new unchartered way that he could create himself. At the end of Tony?s spiritual journey he finds himself lost in a world that is prophesied to end and without a true belief in anything.

Works Cited:

Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima, New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1972.

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