From the moment I picked up Bless Me, Ultima (BMU), I had a strong sense that this was going to be a story of coming of age. BMU is a Bildungsroman. However, this definition does not limit the range of BMU but rather provides Rudolfo Anaya the framework within which to pen his masterpiece. At the website The Victorian Web, a Bildungsroman is defined: A Bildungsroman is, most generally, the story of a single individual’s growth and development within the context of a defined social order. The growth process, at its roots a quest story, has been described as both “an apprenticeship to life” and a “search for meaningful existence within society.” Having cited this source, the rest of the review is an explanation of how BMU fits into this genre.
BMU does not neatly fit into the Bildungsroman genre which leaves room for other interpretations like the “Hero’s Journey.” Moreover, there are problems with the Hero’s Journey model as well, as it does not necessarily fit 100% with that angle either – but this is an issue for other reviewers to ponder. BMU is an examination of religion, of life, of Antonio’s heritage. Life is the classroom while the culture clash is the curriculum.
BMU is the tale of a young Antonio Marez. Antonio’s “apprenticeship to life” (which fits nicely with point number one) starts at six years of age. At the start of the book, the curandera (In this case the curandera almost mimics a shaman – she uses herbs and magic to heal, defend and teach.) Ultima is asked to live with his family. One of the main themes of BMU deals with Antonio’s coming of age. In this journey Antonia has Ultima as his guide through this most turbulent of times. Ultima gives Antonio the valor to cope with his own trials and tribulations. Antonio has to deal with the duality of maturing under the pressure of his mother, a Luna, and his father, a Marez. Witness this from Anaya:
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“Ultima,” I asked, “why are they so strange and quiet? And why are my father’s people so loud and wild?”
She answered. “It is the blood of the Lunas to be quiet, for only a quiet man can learn the secrets of the earth that are necessary for planting – They are quiet like the moon – And it is he blood of the Marez to be wild, like the ocean from which they take their name, and the spaces of the llano that have become their home.”
I waited then said. “Now we have come to live near the river, and yet near the llano. I love them both, and yet I am of neither. I wonder which life I will choose?”
“Ay, hijito,” she chuckled, do not trouble yourself with those thoughts. You have plenty of time to find yourself -“
“But I am growing,” I said, “every day I grow older -“
“True,” she replied softly. She understood that as I grew I would have to choose to be my mother’s priest or my father’s son (Anaya, 1972, p. 41).
The tension of the two opposing forces (Luna/Marez) is a leitmotif that stretches the length of the book. The Luna legacy, on the one hand, is tied to the land. Antonio’s mother is hopeful that one day he will become a priest. Conversely, the Marez heritage, akin to la Mar (the sea) which is the name’s origin, is unstable and roving. Antonio’s fraternal line is filled with vaqueros who traveled the llano and did not like to settle down (Anaya, 1972, p. 41).
Antonio’s father dreams of Antonio following his vaquero “nature” in California. Antonio is inhabits a unique space constantly walking the tightrope that separates these two forces (which fits well with point number three – the long journey under the auspices of a watching – not to mention judging – community.
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Bless Me Ultima Children in many cultures are forced into awkward situations, such as they are expected to make life long decision. Some children (usually boys) are forced to chose a bride at the very early ages. Others are to rule kingdoms, and palaces, and some even countries. In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Antonio experiences many difficult situations that are beyond his years and force him to ...
The theme of Ultima is yet another key angle to explore. Much like Milan Kundera, Anaya plays this story like a musical piece – with many themes and movements that in the end crescendo in climax. In this tale of innocence, the curandera Ultima, as mentioned earlier, comes to live with the family. The two destinies are fused. Antonio begins to learn from Ultima the wonders of healing using the natural environment. Ultima is respected for her ancient wisdom and renowned power. Antonio is immediately seduced by her inner peace and is taken under her wing to her (no pun intended despite the Owl allusions by Anaya) and she builds an awareness of the primal forces that exist in his innocence. Anaya writes:
I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things. But the innocence which our isolation sheltered could not last forever, and the affairs of the town began to reach across the bridge and enter my life. Ultima’s owl gave the warning that the time of peace on our hill was drawing to an end (Anaya, 1972, p. 15).
Antonio gathers herbs and visits the sick and beings to grasp a link involving healing and nature – lessons that he gains from his mentor Ultima. This notion, it is argued, furthers the explanation of a Bildungsroman at it becomes at this point an apprenticeship tale. Despite never `really’ receiving a scientific or grounded explanation for how Ultima predicts future occurrences, heals infirmed, combats the witches and spells, or even the reason for when Ultima decided not to get involved, he intuits. BMU is a story, in its lyrical sense (in the sense that Milan Kundera uses it in Life is Elsewhere – a time of innocence it is a story of redemptive powers and a joy to engage in. There is learning in tension and this catharsis was superb.
