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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Summer of the Mariposas, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sisterhood, Motherhood, and Family
Magic, Myth, and Deception
Gender Dynamics and Female Solidarity
Kindness, Mercy, and Morality
Ancestral and Cultural Appreciation
Summary
Analysis
The Garza sisters decide to nap in the barn before continuing on their journey. They are still a long way from Abuelita’s house in Hacienda Dorada, and they need their strength. Pita is afraid of el chupacabras, but her sisters assure her it only comes out at night. Odilia wakes at noon to a feeling of evil foreboding. Outside, the girls can hear bleating and singing—a goatherd with animals. The girls rush to investigate with less caution than Odilia would like. The goatherd is a small, mangy boy who greets them with a shy smile.
After such a harrowing night, the sisters sleep in a pile and comfort one another, reinforcing their sisterly bonds. Odilia seems to be developing an ability to sense magical deception, perhaps indicating that her proximity to ancestral magic (such as the ear pendant) grants her a unique insight. In other words, she is gaining wisdom from following the path her ancestors have laid out for her and has good reason to be suspicious after all she and her sisters have been through.
Themes
The goatherd introduces himself as Chencho. He is very dirty, with matted hair that covers one of his eyes. Up close, Odilia notes that he has more body hair than an average 12-year-old boy. Chencho offers them a drink of water and seems attracted to Pita. Odilia realizes her baby sister is growing up and fills with pride, but she remains suspicious of Chencho. The boy tells the girls he lives by himself in the countryside, where no one bothers him and he doesn’t bother anyone. Chencho invites the sisters to travel with him and share his food, but Odilia turns him down. Velia protests, but Odilia refuses to take any more risks.
The details of Chencho’s appearance, in addition to his solitary goat herding in the Mexican countryside, suggest that there is more to the boy than meets the eye. Odilia, accustomed to the magical world’s deception, is suspicious. As the primary protector of her sisters, Odilia is becoming more like Mamá (distrustful of strangers), and therefore maturing. The fact that Velia first objects but then submits to Odilia’s direction shows that the sisters are becoming ever more unified.
Themes
Odilia waits an hour before leading her sisters out of the barn, but they still run into Chencho on the road. Odilia caves and lets him join them on their journey. He is kind and generous, sharing his water and talking to Pita about his goats, which are his livelihood. When the sun begins to set, Odilia realizes they will not make it to Abuelita’s house before dark, meaning they will have to guard themselves against the chupacabras. Chencho tells them there is an abandoned cabin where they can spend the night. Still feeling unsettled by the accommodating boy, Odilia vows to stay awake and keep her sisters safe, no matter what.
Meeting up with Chencho again feels almost like fate, as if the girls are meant to encounter and travel with him. Unlike the nagual and the lechuzas, Chencho is not aggressive, nor does he try to separate the sisters. Nevertheless, Odilia remains on guard. Since the beginning, her sisters’ safety has been her primary concern, and this—combined with the abundant trickery they have encountered—have made her almost paranoid.
Themes
The girls and Chencho do their best to make a comfortable camp at the abandoned cabin. Chencho makes a fire and coffee, glad to have company. Odilia asks him why he lives alone in the wilderness. Chencho says his mother died when he was young, and he prefers making his own way in the country to begging in the city. When asked if he has encountered el chupacabras, Chencho reports that the beast has stolen his goats and Chencho’s own left eye, which has been covered by his hair up to this point. Remembering that Teresita’s husband shot el chupacabras through the eye, Odilia feels a chill. But Chencho seems glad when she tells him this; he only wishes he could have dealt the blow himself.
Chencho’s story is plausible but not very detailed. His tale of encountering el chupacabras feels personal, especially when he wishes he was the one who injured it. His missing eye—a loss he attributes to el chupacabras—is the same eye that Teresita’s husband wounded on el chupacabras, which seems too coincidental. Overall, Odilia has the sense that Chencho is not telling them the whole truth.
Themes
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Chencho insists that el chupacabras is immortal, like a vampire, cursed to be hunted by humans for eternity. Juanita has read a book about vampires and convinces her sisters to whittle branches into stakes. Emboldened by Teresita’s prophecy that they could defeat the chupacabras and Teresita’s husband’s exhortation to “bash its head in,” the girls stay up waiting for the beast to attack. Odilia feels again like she has entered a magical world, and she finds that she believes in her sisters’ latest harebrained plan to kill the chupacabras.
While grateful her sisters are working together, Odilia seems uncertain that el chupacabras can be defeated in the same way as a vampire. Still, based on their recent experiences, it seems likely that they will encounter the monster and potentially defeat it, based on what Teresita predicted. At this moment, the sisters are united and have faith that they will emerge from their journey victorious, indicating significant growth.
Themes
Despite her best intentions, Odilia falls asleep. She dreams of Chencho’s missing eye and wakes to the sound of Pita screaming. The chupacabras is there, sucking on Pita’s right leg. Odilia screams for Chencho but he has disappeared. She grabs one of the stakes and stabs it through the beast’s remaining eye, and it howls in pain. Odilia tends to Pita while her sisters fight the blind chupacabras. Suddenly the beast speaks, asking for mercy, saying he is their friend, Chencho. He shifts back and forth between his human and monstrous form, saying he did not mean to hurt them and that he lost control.
Odilia’s dream of Chencho feels like a warning, suggesting a higher power or intuition is looking out for her. The one-eyed chupacabras parallels the Cyclops, who is initially hospitable toward Odysseus and his crew in Homer’s The Odyssey. While Chencho claims that he is the Garza sisters’ friend, he is clearly unable to control his actions and intentionally deceives them. Through Chencho’s character, the novel explores how even trusted and well-meaning people can mislead and cause harm.
Themes
The girls ask if there is a way to cure him, but Chencho maintains that he has always been this way. His mother was a chupacabras who was killed by hunters when he was young. He left the jungle and tried to control the beast and live a normal life, but the monster often overcomes him. Velia and Delia want to kill Chencho for attacking Pita, but Odilia—seeing that he is only a little boy—resolves to show him mercy, as La Llorona directed. They send Chencho into the night, warning him that, if he returns, they will have no choice but to kill him.
Chencho’s inability to control the beast inside him implies that some people unintentionally cause harm. While this excuse does not absolve them of wrongdoing, it does invite a more nuanced response. Seeing Chencho’s youth, Odilia rejects Teresita’s husband’s assertion that there is “no humanity left” in el chupacabras and shows him mercy. In this way, the novel shows that moral dilemmas often involve gray areas rather than clear-cut choices between good and evil. By sparing Chencho, Odilia acknowledges these complexities and maintains her purity of heart while still protecting her sisters.
Themes
