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Chapter 2
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
Odilia and her sisters spend the night at the riverbank, prepping the dead man for travel. Juanita dresses him in some of Papá’s old clothing, since they will try to pass him off as their father at the border. Odilia leaves her sisters bickering about whether the man needs makeup, walking along the bank, thinking of her plan to turn the dead man in to customs. Suddenly, she spots two small boys running very close to the riverbank, followed by a frantic woman in a long white dress (La Llorona). As Odilia watches, the boys topple into the rushing water. Odilia jumps in after them.
Juanita’s choice of clothing again emphasizes the connection between Papá and the dead man, grouping them together as men whose fates are unknown to their families. The girls’ use of another disguise draws attention to ideas of illusion and deception. Odilia’s immediate and unquestioning rush to help the two boys points to her pure heart and her ever-present sense of responsibility for younger children.
Themes
Odilia fights to keep the boys in sight as the current sweeps them away. By the time she surfaces, both boys have drowned, a fact confirmed by their mother, who is wailing on the shore. Their bodies suddenly disappear like a mirage. The woman helps Odilia out of the river, saying she has lived this nightmare many times, searching for her children all night only to find them drowned when morning comes. Her words chill Odilia, who realizes the woman is the fabled La Llorona, a ghost cursed to wander, searching for the children she drowned.
When the boys disappear before Odilia’s eyes, the novel moves for the first time into the realm of magical realism, where the lines between fantasy and reality are blurred. Recognizing that something has shifted, Odilia is able to identify La Llorona by the details of her story: in Latin folklore, she is a ghostly mother searching for the children she drowned. The appearance of this notoriously violent mother draws attention to the sisters’ lack of parental protection and vulnerability.
Themes
La Llorona tells Odilia she did not drown her children like the legends say. She and her husband were arguing about “his decision to leave,” and the boys became frightened, running to their deaths. Her nightly search for them is a self-imposed punishment for the part she played in their demise. Odilia feels like she is dreaming. La Llorona tells Odilia that she has been chosen for her purity of heart, and that Juanita is right—the dead man came to them for a reason. La Llorona is meant to help protect Odilia and her sisters because they are “children of the sun”—that is, they are descended from her people, the Aztecs.
Like Mamá, La Llorona’s fate is the result of her husband’s abandonment, emphasizing the theme of women bearing the burden of men’s actions. La Llorona’s desire to atone for the death of her sons—even though she was not the direct cause of those deaths—is a testament to the purity of a mother’s love. Her assertion that Odilia and her sisters have been chosen and are protected insinuates that mystical forces are on their side. In rooting this protection and guidance in the Garzas’ Aztec lineage, the novel draws on a particular mythology while emphasizing the significance of cultural heritage in the story.
Themes
As the sun rises, La Llorona becomes fearsome; her hair turns white and her face shrivels. She tells Odilia she doesn’t have much time, but she has been sent to help her and her sisters follow their path. Odilia becomes frustrated at La Llorona’s riddles. The ghost tells her she must travel to El Sacrificio and return the dead man to his family, that this journey will also help Odilia’s family find each other again. La Llorona gives Odilia an Aztec ear pendant with five rings, telling her it is a powerful amulet but can only be used five times to provide safe passage. She exhorts Odilia to remain pure of heart on her journey.
La Llorona’s limitations hint that there is a larger magic system at play, whose rules only allow her to appear in darkness. La Llorona confirms that the journey to Mexico will help the Garzas collectively heal, but also seems to suggest that they will be tested and need to rediscover their unity. The ear pendant is a reminder of the magical nature of the quest and the sisters’ connection to the Aztecs. The directive to remain “pure of heart” recalls fairytales in which goodness is repaid with happiness and success.
Themes
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Odilia protests that she cannot take her sisters to Mexico, abandoning Mamá. La Llorona insists that the sisters must work together to reunite their family, for they are lost in despair as they are now. She asks Odilia to take the dead man home, not for his own sake, but for the sake of her own happiness. Odilia’s sisters burst through the brush looking for her, just as La Llorona vanishes. Juanita heard Odilia talking to someone and nags at her until Odilia admits she was talking to La Llorona. Juanita does not believe her.
La Llorona’s speech confirms that the goal of the Garza sisters’ journey is personal transformation. Though the dead man is the driving force behind their departure—as is Papá, though indirectly—they must go on this quest for their own family’s happiness. This adventure is not about doing what is right as much as it is about the Garzas’ desire to move forward out of despair. That said, they have a long way to go, as evidenced by Juanita’s immediate dismissal of Odilia’s claims.
Themes
