Books - Bless Me, Ultima

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	Books - Bless Me, Ultima

Bless Me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya, published in 1972.

Set in New Mexico in the 1940s, it follows the story of Antonio Márez, a boy who meets a curandera named Ultima. The main plotline involves Ultima's struggle to stop the witchcraft of the three daughters of Tenorio Trementina, the main villain. In the novel, Antonio mentally matures into an adult; hence, it is a coming of age story. In the story Antonio, who is witness to several deaths, is forced to deal with religious and moral issues.

As Antonio grows up, he finds that he must choose between two opposing families from which he came: the wild Márez, the cowboy people from where Antonio's father comes from, and the quiet Lunas, the religious farmers from whom his mother descended. His mother's dream is for him to become a Catholic priest, but over the course of the novel Antonio becomes disillusioned with the faith and through Ultima learns of the possibility of other gods. Much of the novel is spent with Antonio trying to reconcile Paganism with Christianity as well as Luna with Márez.

Synopsis

The book is a coming of age novel, and starts with Antonio as he sets off for his first day of school. His mother tells him not to tarnish the family name, and he tries not to. In school, the white kids laugh at him and ridicule his lunch, which consists of tortillas and beans. Over time, Antonio learns about the white kids, and the beliefs so embedded in his head by his mother begins to fade away. His trust in God almighty dwindles after he meets the embodiment of Paganism in the form of a real, tangible creature. He sees a local drunk, otherwise a kind man who owns the most beautiful garden in the world, die from the corruptions of the local villagers with guns. A woman named Ultima guides Antonio until his coming of age, whereupon he helps her with her healing process, blessing the houses of the cursed and fighting a family of satanists. Antonio stops believeing in the good of people when his brothers, coming back from the war, are changed and only want to drink and gamble and patronize the local whorehouse. They are certainly changed for the worse, and leave after a while, to go out west, not help Antonio's father on the railway, where he earns the bacon of the family. Notwithstanding, not all is well, for the father of three witches succeeds in murdering one of the most kindhearted, well to do men in town. Antonio's faith in the christian religion altogether fades as he attends communion and plces the holy wafer in his mouth, drinking it down with wine. He expected to be one with God after he had eaten and drunk the lord, but realizes that no such power is true. His depressions are further amplified when a close friend, who had never done any wrong, drowns in the river after going for a swim. "Why?" Questions Antonio. However, he does not have long to mourn, because there is a house in town with witches living in it. With Ultima's help, he and Antonio are able to cure the people that the witches cursed and even kill a few of them. In the end, however, the father of the sinners prevails and sets fire to the town atop a stallion of hell, and kills Ultima by killing her owl. Nevertheless, Antonio does away with him, and he runs back to his house to see Ultima die. Now he is a man, but at what price?

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