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Chapter 5
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 girls arrive in El Sacrificio and stop at a corner store to ask for directions. The shop owner glimpses the dead man in the car and recognizes him. He tells Odilia the man should have stayed away, that he is going to ruin “that poor girl’s day,” and that he is a vagabond. He closes up shop without giving Odilia directions. La Llorona appears to Odilia in the shadows, telling her to follow the sound of the moon’s sighs and to look for a pink house. She is bound by some mystical rules, unable to give Odilia more detail about the journey to come, saying that she must fight her own battles. She disappears.
The shop owner’s reaction to the dead man—who he believes is alive—is ominous, hinting that the sisters’ attempt to do the right thing will not go as planned. La Llorona’s guidance is vague and whimsical, reminding the reader that the girls are on a spiritual journey but are also, in some way, being tested. The directive to fight their own battles solidifies this idea, indicating that Odilia and her sisters are approaching a critical moment in their quest.
Themes
Odilia and her sisters find the pink house La Llorona mentioned. There is a large party happening in the front yard of the dead man’s house. The girls realize it is a quinceañera for the dead man’s daughter (Beatriz), who is not as young as she was in his photograph. They argue with one another about how to proceed, unwilling to ruin the girl’s special day. It is getting late, but taking the dead man to a motel poses too many problems. They deliberate going to speak with the family first before bickering about needing the bathroom and about the stench of the corpse.
The quinceañera startles the Garza sisters; this is not the situation they had envisioned. The further realization that the dead man’s daughter is much older than she was in his family photo brings up uncomfortable questions: there must be a reason Gabriel Pérdido did not have a more recent photo of his daughter, but the girls seem unwilling to investigate this line of thought. This unexpected turn of events shatters their brief sisterly harmony, and again they fall to arguing amongst themselves.
Themes
Velia and Delia refuse Juanita’s suggestion of returning to the woods, referencing evil owls—lechuzas—and other fairytale creatures that might be on the prowl. As if on cue, a Great Dane runs up to the car and jumps through the window, slobbering all over the girls as they struggle to escape. The dog seems to recognize the dead man in the backseat, sitting beside him and whining. A young man calls the dog’s name—Serberús—and sends him home. He introduces himself as Efraín Pérdido and asks if they are friends of Beatriz—the dead man’s daughter. Odilia realizes Efraín is Gabriel Pérdido’s son and dreads the bad news she and her sisters are about to give his family.
The twins’ reference to lechuzas foreshadows impending supernatural dangers and also illustrates that such folktales are well-known in Mexican culture. The Great Dane Serberús is a reference to the three-headed hound of Hades who guards the underworld in Greek mythology. His appearance further suggests that the Garza sisters are entering a distinctly magical world, despite the fact that he is a normal dog. In Efraín, Odilia sees another version of herself and her sisters, another child about to be wounded by the loss of his father.
Themes
Efraín insists the Garza sisters join in the festivities, asking how they know the family. An older man approaches—Efraín’s grandfather—and peers through the car window at the dead man. Dumbstruck by recognition, he calls out to his daughter Inés, crying that Gabriel—her husband—has returned. The party comes to a halt as Inés and Beatriz approach the car. While Inés is in shock, her children are furious at their father’s sudden reappearance. Beatriz sobs that her father should have stayed away, that it is typical of him to ruin her night by showing up this way.
The reactions of Gabriel’s family—who do not yet realize he is dead—imply that he has been gone for quite some time. In particular, Beatriz’s anger at her father’s reappearance strongly suggests the dead man is on bad terms with his family, to the extent that his own daughter would rather he stay away. Rather than bringing closure to a worried family, as they imagined, the Garza sisters and their passenger seem to have reopened old wounds.
Themes
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Furious that his father is too cowardly to come out of the car, Efraín yanks the door open, and the dead man falls out onto the pavement. Beatriz faints and is carried into the house by the rest of her family. The guests erupt into speculation about Gabriel’s whereabouts in the years after he abandoned his family and ply the Garza sisters for information. Odilia is grateful that her sisters have the sense to remain silent. Gabriel’s body is taken away and Inés’s father dismisses the guests before inviting the girls inside the house.
The shock of Gabriel’s death further traumatizes his family, who are already reacting poorly to his arrival. His children’s fury at his abandonment echoes the Garzas’ complicated feelings toward their own father. The shock of this turn of events leaves the sisters speechless, undoubtedly considering how their own situation compares to that of the Pérdido family.
Themes
Inside the house, the dead man’s body has been laid out on a table. Inés Pérdido introduces herself to the girls and asks them where her husband has been. The Garza sisters tell her all they know, explaining that Gabriel was dead when they found him. Inés tells them that Gabriel left years ago, and she thought he might have found another family up north, like many men do. Inés had begged him to come back for the sake of his children, but he never contacted her again. She speculates that some men have “no sense of place or belonging, no concept of family.” Inés thanks the Garzas for bringing peace to her family, but they can see she is broken.
Inés’s account of her husband’s abandonment solidifies the comparison between Papá and the dead man. Like Papá, Gabriel’s reasons for leaving are unclear, but likely selfish. Like Mamá, Inés bore the burden of caring for her family all alone, while her husband went freely to live a new life of his choosing. The harm that Gabriel’s actions caused to his family can be seen in their obvious resentment and anger. Inés’s broken spirit reminds the sisters of their own emotional wounds.
Themes
