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Chapter 14
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
After their encounter with the chupacabras, the Garza sisters become more cooperative. They build a stretcher to carry Pita, whose injured leg is infected and swollen, making it too painful to walk. They continue their journey toward Abuelita’s house with difficulty. Odilia considers using the last spin of the ear pendant, but she knows that Abuelita will be able to heal her sister if they can just make it there in time. Cresting one last hill, they come upon Hacienda Dorada, its yard overflowing with flowers and more butterflies than they have ever seen in one place.
With one of their own injured, the Garza sisters unite like never before. Completing their journey on their own demonstrates just how far the girls have come in terms of maturity. The multitude of butterflies that awaits them at Abuelita’s house is confirmation that they have reached their final destination in Mexico, a sign of joyful familial celebration at how the girls have transformed.
Themes
The girls reach the house’s gate and call for help. Two men working in the garden bring them inside to Abuelita Remedios, who is overjoyed to see her granddaughters after so many years. She is alarmed to find Pita sick with fever, and she questions the other sisters about the bite. Not sure if Abuelita will believe her, Odilia withholds that it was el chupacabras until one of the hired men recognizes the distinctive bite. Abuelita moves quickly to treat Pita, whose blood has been poisoned by the chupacabras. She calls for her medicine bag, pulling out various herbs to craft a remedy. Proudly, she tells the girls that her herbs are the best in the country.
Despite all the years they have been apart, Abuelita’s readiness to help is a testament to the power of family. Her acceptance of the truth of el chupacabras’s bite indicates a belief in the supernatural not typical for adults, which in turn points to a deep understanding of Mexican folklore and culture. Her vast knowledge of herbal medicine highlights how many useful skills can be learned from one’s predecessors.
Themes
The sisters watch as Abuelita Remedios tends to Pita’s wounds with great skill. Abuelita informs Pita that she will be fine, and the girls will stay with her as long as it takes for her to recuperate. Odilia lies to Abuelita to prevent her from calling Mamá immediately, telling her their phone is disconnected, because she is worried Mamá will try to come to Mexico and get into trouble. Abuelita feeds and bathes the girls, listening to their stories and tending to Pita’s needs. For the next few days, the girls do chores and care for the animals while Abuelita teaches Odilia about the herbs and their medicinal uses.
Odilia’s hesitation about contacting Mamá points to an unwillingness to face the remaining challenge of returning home and confronting the guilt she feels for abandoning Mamá. Instead, she throws herself into Abuelita’s medicinal instruction, amplifying her appreciation of cultural knowledge that is passed down through families.
Themes
When Pita is well enough, Abuelita declares they will leave for the US the following morning. That night, Abuelita sits the girls down for a conversation. Pita asks about Papá, and Abuelita confirms that she knows he left the family almost a year ago and that he is still alive. Though she will not go into detail, Abuelita tells the girls that Papá left because he is selfish and spoiled. The sisters recall how Papá used to spoil them with gifts whenever he came home, but Odilia thinks he did this because he felt guilty for being gone so much.
Papá’s abandonment has not only harmed his relationships with his wife and daughters, but also his relationship with Abuelita, his own mother. Abuelita’s claim that Papá’s reasons for leaving were selfish confirm that his family was not a priority for him, the same way it was not a priority for Gabriel Pérdido. Reflecting on all the gifts Papá used to bring them from his travels reveals that he was failing to be present for his children even before he abandoned the family outright. In a way, Papá’s gifts were a ruse meant to conceal the way he was neglecting his children.
Themes
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The conversation turns to Mamá. Velia accuses Mamá of being as neglectful as Papá, but Abuelita contradicts her. She places all the blame on her son, who she reveals has filed for divorce. Disgusted, Abuelita tells the girls their Papá wants to reinvent himself, like so many other men who travel north to the United States. Grasping the permanence of their father’s abandonment, the sisters are heartbroken. Odilia reflects that she was not alone in holding out hope that Papá would return, and feels a pang of sympathy for Mamá going through this ordeal on her own.
That Abuelita absolves Mamá of all wrongdoing indicates that she understands how women often bear the majority of the load when a man decides to abandon the life he has created. Mamá has not been neglectful, she has just been doing the job of two parents as one person. Here, the sisters begin to confront the idea that Papá might not return to them and the pain of knowing he chose some new life over them. As they grapple with this, they understand Mamá better and join her as women suffering because of a man’s actions.
Themes
The sisters realize that they have abandoned Mamá just like Papá did, and that they have to get home to make things right. Odilia suggests that the lechuzas were right: they are wicked children, running wild when they should have been helping Mamá. Delia asserts that it is their fault Papá left, that they are too much to handle. Odilia contradicts her: as the adult, Papá failed them, not the other way around. Abuelita agrees, telling the girls they must not blame themselves or Mamá for Papá’s choices. The most important thing, she says, is to take care of one another and get home to Mamá.
Though unintentional, the Garza girls consider that the harm they have done to Mamá makes them wicked children, proving the lechuzas right. Hearing Delia blame herself and her sisters for Papá’s abandonment, however, steers Odilia away from this line of thinking. She realizes that the self-doubt and insecurity that the lechuzas preyed upon incorrectly paint the sisters as undeserving of love or forgiveness. Like Chencho, the girls deserve mercy and understanding, especially from their parents. Here, the novel does away with the black-and-white morality of fairytales and demonstrates that willingness to change is the true indicator of a pure heart.
Themes
