Final Thoughts on Dialectic of Solitude

"It is during [adolescence] that we become aware of our singularity for the first time. But the dialectic of emotions intervenes once more: since adolescence is extreme self-consciousness, it can only be transcended by self-forgetfulness, by self-surrender. Therefore, solitude is not only a time of solitude but also of great romances, of heroism and sacrifice."(Paz, Octavio. Labyrinth of Solitude, 198.)

       Octavio Paz's essay "Dialectic of Solitude," was easily one of my favorite readings from this semester.  Paz's thoughts on loneliness and man's search for commonality were profound. He was accurate to the point that I was disturbed--does Octavio Paz know me? It sure seems like it. I recognized his descriptions on such a personal level, and because of that they resonated deeply with me.  I quickly felt like I trusted Paz, and he pulled me into his essay where he could teach me about myself and my fellow man. This essay was not written to inspire, I see it more as a detailed commentary on a singular aspect in the plight of mankind. The power in this essay comes from its effect in helping readers recognize our similarities. There is something powerful about coming to understand our universal need for validation, for acknowledgement, for communion.

         In closing, let me just say that the content we covered in IHUM260 was exceptional. I don't think that the purpose of this course was to give us a complete understanding of the humanities of Latin America. I do believe, however, that we were given an opportunity to experience a taste of Latin America through its media and recognize common themes. "Dialectic of Solitude" was just a snippet from this course, but it played an important role in helping me recognize that cultural elements, however different from region to region, stem from common human experience.

Becoming a Man Gives Life Meaning

"What makes a man a man?" (Hellboy, Dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2004.)

              Taking the story of a demon conjured by and rescued from nazis, director Guillermo del Toro successfully leveraged the ridiculous with the real in Hellboy. However fantastic and stylized, viewers can comfortably suspend their disbelief through Hellboy's journey because of the humanity Del Toro instilled in this character. Hellboy is magnetic, his story compelling and his actions believable because his "coming-of-age" process is consistent with Viktor Frankl's "will-to-meaning" theory.

       According to Frankl, an individual's primary motivational force is to find a purpose in life, directly opposing Freud's will-to pleasure theory and Adler's will-to-power theory. Frankl suggests that man needs meaning, and can discover it in the following ways:

1. by doing a deed
2. by encountering someone
3. by defining our attitude toward life

       The experiences that guide Hellboy to manhood fit Frankl's descriptions of experiences that guide one to meaning, man's ultimate purpose. Experiences that fit Frankl’s requirements and help Hellboy become a man include developing a relationship with Liz, overcoming Rasputin and the forces of darkness, and defining his attitude towards life (described in the words of Agent Myers as, "What makes a man a man? It’s the choices he makes--not how he starts them, but how he chooses to end them." 01:58:41.)

        Frankl suggests that when we find meaning in life by any of the three ways described, we can overcome depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, OCD, etc. Similarly, the process of becoming a man/finding purpose transforms Hellboy. His extreme self-consciousness in the beginning (evidenced by Agent Clay’s warning, "Don't stare at him, you'll make him angry... His horns! He files them to fit in!" 00:24:57.) is replaced with  self-assurance (evidenced by Hellboy telling Liz, "I wish I could do something about this *points to face* I can't,  but I can promise you two things: One, I'll always look this good, and two, I'll never give up on you." 01:29:39.) However absurd the premise, Hellboy’s journey to manhood and meaning harmonizes with reality. Having the experiences prescribed by Frankl transformed Hellboy in the ways they would any man, and thereby make a man out of Hellboy.

Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca in Bless Me, Ultima

"'Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp-and make something new,' I said to myself" (Rudolpho Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 247.)

         Bless Me, Ultima, details Antonio's search for balance in his life. Living in a world of conflicting religious beliefs, family expectations, and the hopes of his mother and father, Antonio must reconcile the differences that confront him. Eventually, Antonio creates for himself a harmonious set of beliefs and balances the competing influences that make him who he is.

         For Antonio, the main source of internal conflict stems from his diverse heritage. His mother is of the Luna family--the people of the moon, religious farmers destined to homestead and till the land. Antonio's father is of the Marez clan--descendants of the sea, restless vaqueros who roam the llanos seeking adventure. These separate and opposing influences are effectively balanced by the end of the novel, much like the opposing mythical Aztec gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca.

           The god Quetzalcoatl is associated with priests, the acquisition of knowledge, and farming. In many ways, the equally powerful god, Tezcatlipoca, is seen as Quetzalcoatl’s counterpart. Tezcatlipoca is associated with the night winds, hurricanes, strife, and night. Constantly at odds, the rivalry between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, as they jointly rule, mirrors the conflict between the Lunas and the Marez described in the novel. Not only can clear associations be made between both Quetzalcoatl and the Lunas and Tezcatlipoca and the Marez family, but their competition over the ownership of the world is comparative to the developing rift between the Lunas and Marez over who will “govern” Antonio’s future. Additionally, myth dictates that Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl eventually decided to rule the world in a partnership, accepting shared responsibility. The return to balance that results in their universe matches the peace that Antonio experiences, as demonstrated in the above quote, when he is finally able to reconcile the conflicting powers within himself.

The Ripening of Life

"I knew the earth was fruitful...but I never realized it could be like this! The ground was soft to walk on. The fragrance of sun-dazzling flowers was deep, and soft, and beautiful." --Bless me, Ultima Rudolpho Anaya (Pg. 108-109)

Narciso's garden?

In this scene Antonio was guided to the garden of Narciso, the town drunk. He was amazed by the beauty of the garden; the tastes, the smells. Against his better judgment, he eats a carrot from the garden at the request of Cico his friend. After their visit to the garden, Cico shows Antonio the Golden Carp, a pagan god. Later in the book, Narciso is killed and with him perishes the garden. "Now his house was deserted and his garden withered away." (pg. ??)

In the Senses Still by Nadia Seremetakis, the word ‘nostalgia’ is compared to a journey in which one is changed by sensory experiences; it is a longing for the past that also influences the present.  According to Seremetakis, Americans view the past as an isolatable unit of time whereas the Greeks see the past as a catalyst that influences the present.  Although these experiences are sometimes painful, they are important because they bring meaning into life, just like an unripened fruit is tastless and through maturation it becomes sweet.

Antonio has such an experience in the garden.   This garden is like the Garden of Eden for him and prepares him for the knowledge that he gains of the Golden Carp; which leads him to question everything he knows.  When Narciso died and his garden withered away, it is as if Antonio was kicked out of the garden because of the knowledge and experiences he gained. Antonio’s relationship with the past is both very separate from his present self as well as a fundamental building block of who he has become. Although his memories of Narciso dictate his current perception of the world, the garden is gone and he will never be able to relive those experiences. As Seremetakis explained and Antoinio came to understand, our experiences need ripening to gain meaning and become a part of who we are. 

Tenorio's Lost Eye

"A man does not flee from the truth." (Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 129.)

         The process of leaving childhood behind as adult knowledge is acquired is described in Bless Me, Ultima through the experiences of young Antonio. In one such learning experience,  the malicious saloon-keeper and barber in El Puerto, Tenorio, attacks Ultima, claiming that she is a witch. Antonio and his family must defend her. but before any advances are made Ultima's owl/spiritual guardian attacks Tenorio, pulling out one of his eyes. In the context of Antonio’s coming-of-age, the details of this experience cannot be overlooked.

Tenorio and his eyepatch after the owl attack

       Tenorio’s gouged eye becomes an interesting symbol as a product of this scene. Ultima's owl  could have gone for his heart, ears, scalp... but there is significance in the fact that the owl took the eye from this hate-filled man. Injured eyes symbolize a person’s refusal to confront the truth. Tenorio refuses to accept that in the death of his daughter, it was her own involvement in witchcraft and the black mass that cursed Lucas that would have played a role, not Ultima’s healing powers. Piercing the window of Tenorio’s soul, the owl symbolically demonstrated the harmful effects of refusing to acknowledge truth on one’s body and spirit. Additionally, Tenorio’s jaded and stubborn way of thinking was made obvious to everyone in the community.

            The owl attack was not included as a part of Antonio’s story merely to give explanation for the later assaults on Ultima and her owl--Tenorio was malicious enough to attack Ultima without justification anyway. Tenorio’s gouged eye indicated to the community that he justified his violent behavior through something other than fact. Ultima foreshadowed that  harmful effects of stubbornly ignoring truth would be made plainly manifest when she said, “A man does not flee from the truth." Refusing to acknowledge truth,  no matter how painful,  will only harm the soul. As a part of Antonio’s coming-of-age, this lesson is significant because it is  soon after that he himself is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths of his own, truths that would  only harm his soul if ignored. 

The River

"I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things." (Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 15.)

          Bless Me, Ultima is the coming-of-age story of Antonio Marez.  With the guidance of his mentor and protector, Ultima, Antonio explores the family ties that both shape and plague him, and ultimately discovers his unique identity and destiny. Antonio is a very serious and thoughtful 6-year-old, one prone to moral questioning. His coming-of-age is shaped as he is repeatedly forced to confront difficult issues that blur the lines between right and wrong. Ultima guides his progression. For example, she teaches Antonio early on "that there is peace in the river." (15.) Soon after, Antonio's witnesses the death of a man in the river.

          The timing and significance of the river lesson for young Antonio cannot be ignored. What can Antonio gain from being at peace with the river, recognizing in it his own "spirit"? In the book Jung And The Story Of Our Time, Laurens van der Post notes that a river is the image of "water already in movement, finding its own way through great ravines, carrying all over cataract and rapid through conditions of external danger, to emerge intact and triumphant for union with the sea out of which it rose as vapour at the beginning." Rivers disregard straight lines or short cuts as they confront the physical impediments before them. Not ignoring but fully acknowledging all that surrounds them, rivers do not let outside forces hinder their path towards the sea.

          Ultima seems to know everything before it happens, (see page 24 if you don't believe me). She knew that Antonio, before the life-altering experience of witnessing Lupito's death, needed to come to terms with the river. Not only was Lupito killed in the river, but understanding "the soul of the river" meant moving on. As Ultima taught him, he must follow the example of the river by allowing his experiences to shape his progression, not incapacitate or "dam" it. Because he chose to learn from the "physical impediment" that confronted him, rather than stalling his coming-of-age, this experience propelled it.

Lord of Poison and Two-Face

"Macandal, the one-armed, now a houngan of the Rada rite, invested with superhuman powers as the result of his possession by the major gods on several occasions, was the Lord of Poison." (Carpentier, Alejo. The Kingdom of This World, 30.)

         Carpentier's Macandal in The Kingdom of This World is a character described as being a leader among his fellow slaves. Able to win the hearts of both men and women with his engaging stories and captivating personality, he plays a major influence on the novel's main character, Ti Noel. When Macandal loses his arm in an accident, he loses value as a slave.  His workload is lightened as a result, which takes him away from the other slaves to relative isolation. He eventually runs away, but his owner puts little effort into searching for him. After all,  "A one-armed slave was a trifling thing." (21) As a renegade, Macandal harnesses the poisonous qualities of plants and animals around him, and becomes "Lord of Poison."

             Macandal and Harvey Dent from the Batman comics share similar stories. Harvey grew up poor with an instinctive mistrust and dislike for the upper-class, much like Macandal. He developed a repressed mental illness as a result of the harsh circumstances under which he was raised. To overcome his illness he devoted himself to working hard--he became good-looking and successful as a result.  After his face and hand were disfigured by an acid attack, however, his mental illness took over and he became a super-villain.

           Macandal's injury was a major blow, but that was not what caused him to become "Lord of Poison". Macandal was of the Mandingue--"it was common knowledge that every Mandingue was a potential fugitive. Mandingue was a synonym for intractable, rebellious, a devil." (21) The obedient slave before, Macandal's injury triggered the manifestation of the Mandigue within him, just as the acid spill unleashed the schizophrenia within Harvey. Macandal was able to repress the Mandingue until his injury limited his value and forced him away from the other slaves, into isolation. Similarly, Harvey was able to repress his schizophrenia/bi-polar disorder until his injury deformed him, destroying his very public career.  Harvey and Macandal responded to their life-altering mutilations by wreaking havoc-- not in revenge, but because they lost control of the one thing that gave them control over that which inhabited them.

"My flowers bloom early in the morning"

• 00:12:15 Maria Candelaria:  I have my flowers to offer

• 00:12:20 Citizen 1: Did you hear that?

• 00:12:22 Citizen 2: Is it Maria Candelaria's voice? 

• 00:12:25 Citizen 1: It sure is.

• 00:12:27 Citizen 2: How dare she sell flowers? Let's stop her.

• 00:12:53 Maria Candelaria: My flowers bloom early in the morning.

(Maria Candelaria, Emilio Fernandez, 00:12:15)

          Maria Candelaria is the story of a beautiful young woman hated for her mother's sin. Although Maria is a picture of chastity, the distinction between mother and daughter is lost on the neighbors. Maria lives in isolation and poverty because the locals refuse to interact with her. When she tries to sell her flowers, Maria sings this song: "My flowers bloom early in the morning."

           The morning is a common symbol in literature. It is a beginning, the start of life, and an end to the dark of night. In Modern Man In Search Of A Soul, Carl Jung compares the stages of a day to the life of an individual, using the sun to symbolize man’s consciousness. The morning is when men embrace the world, seeks to expand their horizons by rising higher and higher--it symbolizes the starting point to growth, achievement, and acceptance. Also significant is the morning sunrise beginning in the East, symbolizing a new beginning, the birth of a new day. The morning also represents revelation often of morning (i.e. the "dawning" of an idea), a reprieve from the darkness of ignorance.

            Maria Candelaria's song to the villagers of, "My flowers bloom early in the morning," is not insignificant. Unlike Maria, who may be said to have bloomed "late at night" as a product of her mother's sin, her flowers bloom early in the morning. They are a product of a different stage in time--one of light and inspiration. Her flowers bloomed at the dawn of a new beginning. Not only does her song distinguish the flowers as separate from her mother's world, but it also designates the flowers as a symbol of her hope. Maria offers the townspeople her flowers--if they accept the flowers born of the morning, maybe they will reevaluate her origins as well. If she can sell the flowers, she can get out of isolation and poverty. Her rebirth into society depends on the villagers--accepting her flowers may signal the dawn of a new beginning for Maria.

Paz and Brown

"Love is an attempt to penetrate another being, but it can only be realized if the surrender is mutual. It is always difficult to give oneself up; few persons anywhere ever succeed in doing so, and even fewer transcend the possessive stage to know what love actually is: a perpetual discovery, an immersion in the waters of reality, and an unending re-creation." (Paz, Octavio. "Mexican Masks" The Labyrinth of Solitude, 42.)

        In "Mexican Masks," Octavio Paz argues that Mexicans of all classes and ages present a mask to the world rather than their true self. Mexico is a hostile environment that obliges the people to close themselves off. Based on their history, this reaction is justifiable. But, rather than embracing and refining solitude in a healthy way, Paz suggests that the effect of solitude is manifest in extreme defensiveness and aggression, bravado in "machismo," and paralyzing shyness that often offends. Distrust, irony, and suspicion replace patience and long-suffering as a result of the people’s solitude.

          “Mexican Masks” reminded me of Brene Brown's presentation on TED Talks. Brown sought to discover the key to human connection.  After 6 years of research, her conclusion was that, "in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen. Really seen." People who experience love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect by letting go of who they ought to be and allowing themselves to be who they really are. To borrow Paz's analogy, people who experience love and belonging are able to because they have taken off their masks. Although vulnerability is at the core of shame, which causes self-consciousness and defensiveness and thereby prevents connection, vulnerability is also the birthplace of love and belonging. This is because it is when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable we open ourselves up to love. Being authentic, letting ourselves be seen, taking off our masks is how we begin to develop healthy, loving relationships.

         The mutual surrender Paz describes as necessary to realize love is the embracing of vulnerability that Brown discovered. The “Mexican Mask” is the image of what one ought to be that we must let go of in order to allow ourselves to be who we really are. There is no vulnerability in solitude, no giving oneself up, which is why “few persons anywhere...know what love actually is.” Paz and Brown recognize the solution to the “hermeticism” of the Mexican people as surrendering our pride and allowing others to see our true selves. 

(Turn the video on and listen to it while you're getting ready for school in the morning or something. It's 20 minutes, and definitely worth it)

Book Making and Candido

"The meeting occurred at a dance: it was--to recall the young man's former trade--the first page of that book, which was to leave the press badly printed and with a worse binding. " (Machado de Assis, "Father vs. Mother") 

       At it's outset, "Father vs. Mother" is a story of desperation feeding on itself. Candido Neves and his wife Clara are forced to leave their baby at a convent. When Candido captures a slave who is pregnant, and terrified of being hurt, he is put to the test. Will Candido place the needs of her unborn baby before his own family's? In a few sarcastic lines, we realize the story's dark conclusion. Because of the above quote, however, I believe that this was not intended to be a tale of desperation, but a tale of poor judgement, planning and work ethic, based on my experience with book binding.

          According to the metaphor highlighted in the above quote, Clara and Candido's relationship is a book.  Each encounter between the two makes up the pages-- every experience adds to the story. The "binding" is what keeps them together--couples are bound by love and commitment, books are bound by thread and/or glue. Bad binding indicates poor technique, that the job was rushed.  Based on Candido's lack of self discipline and commitment in learning the printing industry earlier, ("He began by deciding to learn printing but he soon saw that it would take some time to become a good compositor, and, even so, most likely he would not earn enough. That is what be told himself..." [Machado de Assis, "Father vs. Mother']) it comes as no surprise that his attempt at marriage would be equally weak, and assumptions beforehand just as rushed and unfounded. As far as being "badly printed," clearly Machado is referring to the lack of foresight and judgement that went into this relationship. If the printing is bad, it means that the printer did not take into account details as he plowed ahead. Such is the case with Candido and Clara.

            To some extent, "Father vs. Mother" is a story of the dreadful ends of desperation. But because Machado compared Candido's marriage to both a poorly made book and his weak attempt at bookbinding, it is clear that Machado intended to show that Candido's situation was not an unfortunate inevitability. He created his reality, and as a result of poor planning, commitment, and foresight, things ended tragically. Innocent parties outside his immediate circle of influence were affected. Tragedy seemed unavoidable, but rather than taking responsibility for his own poor book making, he forced the consequences upon a woman and her unborn child. No, a poorly made book is not a tragedy or even a crime, but it is a waste. Candido rushed into creating a family without having the self discipline, wisdom, or work ethic to properly support them, and as a result he lost his opportunity to have created a book of value, a book that did not have to rely on unethical justifications for its weak resolution.

What Makes Iracema and Martim Human

"Iracema is more strongly attached to Martim than he is to her. Martim's inability to maintain his interest in Iracema soon sends her into a fatal decline from unrequited love."  Naomi Lindstrom (Foreword to Iracema, xvii.)

          Iracema and Martim's love story is pretty fantastic, verging on cliche. However, I think that the psychological realism of their story allows the reader to suspend their disbelief. Though tragic, Iracema and Martim's actions are not only believable, but consistent with Viktor Frankl's "will-to-meaning" theory.

Martim is dissatisfaction results in Iracema's abandonment 

             According to Frankl, an individual's primary motivational force is to find a purpose in life. Frankl suggests that one of the ways we can discover meaning in life is by experiencing or encountering someone. For Iracema, encountering Martim gave her life meaning. The subsequent failure of that relationship causes her to lose that essential what gave her life meaning and helped her feel fulfilled. Because Iracema does not replace what gave her purpose with something equally fulfilling, Iracema remains empty. The "spiritual" aspect of her being, as Frankl would describe it, starves and leads her to experience symptoms of depression (as manifest by her jealousy, loss of desire to live, and lack of motivation/belief that she can change her situation). Iracema's experience with Martim is consistent with Frankl's description of people who have experienced and then subsequently  lost their sense of meaning. Leave that need unfulfilled leads to a deep sense of loss. Martim's unfulfilled need for a purpose is apparent in his restlessness, "While Iracema frolicked along the beach, the warrior’s eyes turned from her to gaze upon the sea’s immensity."(Jose de Alencar, Iracema, 84) Although he could find happiness and fulfillment in his relationship with Iracema, he seeks fulfillment by other means which leads him to abandon her.

         Both Martim and Iracema demonstrate that man truly desires purpose. Instead of investing her time and efforts into some other cause or even trying to improve things with Martim, Iracema instead becomes depressed and even suicidal. Martim, rather than being satsified in his relationship with his wife, remains discontent, constantly searching for meaning and clinging to things of the past.  However fanciful this story of a beautiful Indian princess seducing a brave European warrior is, however exotic and mystical, there is undeniable humanity in Iracema and Martim. Frankl suggests that it is our spirituality that makes us human. It is the apparent desire for meaning in both of these characters, driven by the spiritual aspect of their individual beings, that makes these characters both believable and their experiences tragic. 

Foreigner + Native

Lewis and Clark Monument in my hometown.

 "If Iracema is America, Martim is the European military man who takes over the land."  Alencar, Iracema, xviii

        For the U.S., our most famous "Foreigner meets Native" is the story of Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea. Minus the romance, the story of Lewis and Clark is very similar to Iracema's, told from the opposite perspective.

        Alencar tells the story of Iracema from the view of a native. Iracema is naive, misguided, and somewhat of a traitor. Her life is tragic, her love doomed. She changed the course of her nation's history by welcoming a foreigner. Sacajawea's story is told from the perspective of the foreigner. Sacajawea is a hero! A strong woman, both smart and selfless. She changed the course of our nation's history by facilitating the expansion of the U.S.! 

              Martim, while characterized as being civilized, sensitive, and willing to learn the native culture, he is "the military man who takes over the land." Lewis and Clark, however, are the wise, courageous, claimers of new territory. They are brilliant symbols of the American dream, of exploration and discovery. 

               Just as Dr. Mack said that most of the attention is given to Iracema in this book, most of our attention, as Americans, focuses on Lewis and Clark (notice that in the above memorial Sacajawea is not represented). Martim's story is significant because of Iracema. Sacajawea's story is significant because of Lewis and Clark.

         
      The above quote states that Iracema is America, and it is clear that Sacajawea fits the same role. The difference between the stories is that Martim is "the military man who takes over the land, " but Lewis and Clark are the heroes that discovered the land.  

Would the story of Iracema, told with emphasis on Martim's experience become Lewis and Clark + Sacajawea? Does the difference between the way these similar stories are told tell us something about the attitudes and perceptions of their respective nations?

I think so.

Altamirano's Self-Deception

Though I knew that everywhere in Europe, states were tearing at the authority of the Church, and though I well knew that to preserve itself there, the Church must show its authority over the Jesuits here, I still couldn't help wondering whether these Indians would have not have preferred that the sea and wind had not brought any of us to them. (The Mission.)

This was a statement made by Altamirano as he was visiting Father Gabriel's remote mission of San Carlos. In this scene, it was clear Altamarino was deeply affected by the simple and faithful lives of the Guarani, he was coming to see the truth in Father Gabriel's words that these truly were "naturally spiritual people."

That being said, was this statement Altamirano's way of foreshadowing the horrific events to come? Perhaps, but it seems to be more than that. It's not a statement made for the sake of the viewers, but for his own as well. This is Altamirano's attempt at justifying his role in causing what he knows is about to be depicted. This is, after all, very much Altamirano's memoir.  Altamirano knows that he will inevitably cause the destruction of this Mission and the faithful people there, and is justifying his actions by basically saying, "The Guarani were doomed long before I was sent, they were doomed when the wind and the sea blew the first Spanish settlers here." (Let us also note that the Spanish/Portuguese settlers are not faulted, but the wind and the sea that sent them.)

So what is the point of all this? To blame Altamirano, point out that he tried to cast fault for the slaughter of hundreds/thousands onto the weather? Not necessarily. Just as Pilot used a symbolic washing of the hands to distance himself from Christ's crucifixion, Altamirano uses fate/nature to do the same for himself. Yes, we can all agree that it would have been better for the Guarani to have lived untouched by European settlers. Given that that was not the case, their well-being should not have been disregarded and assumed to be beyond defending, as it seems Altamirano wants us to believe. For the Guarani, living in the Mission was certainly better than slavery or indentured servitude, and absolutely better than death.

Altamirano was correct in his assertion that it would have been better for the Guarani if the Europeans had never come, but he was wrong if he thought that was justification for forcing them out of their territory and allowing them to be murdered. Confronted by a decision between power and conscience, Altamirano ultimately chooses power, and when filled with regret, seems to look back on his actions and say, "I would not be guilty if this situation had never come about in the first place."

Truth Takes the Road Between them Both

"My faith has never failed me, but my relationship with God has been changing with the years. Sometimes, not thinking, I call him Negenechen, and I confuse the Virgen del Socorro with the blessed Mother Earth of the Mapuche--I am no less a Catholic than before, God fordbid!" Ines of My Soul, pg 208

A diagram of The Seven Sacraments, our way to Salvation 

  I just wanted to dissect Ines' approach to Christianity at this point-- because she seems to be dabbling into some non-Catholic Doctrine here which I find very interesting considering the timeframe (the Protestant Reformation going on in Europe around this time). 

    Christianity can be divided into two basic segments based on the doctrinal approach to Salvation. One segment of Christianity believes that we are "reborn" to things of God and receive salvation by receiving the sacraments of the Church. This segment is usually associated with Catholicism. In The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the sacraments are defined as "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions." 

Protestant approach to Salvation

       The second segment of Christianity (usually associated with Protestantism) believes that our spiritual rebirth consists of having a personal experience/relationship with Jesus. The belief that we are born again spiritually by achieving this personal relationship with Deity was a product of the Reformation. 

       Where does Mormonism stand? Joseph Smith, as he so often did, said that truth takes the road between them both. On page 162 in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith we read, "Being born again comes by the Spirit of God through Ordinances."

          In Chile, Ines is having a tremendously spiritual experience. She is learning to rely on her faith, having a "rebirth" to things of a spiritual nature. It makes sense to me that she would turn towards Mapuche tradition to realize a personal relationship with Deity, even though such a closeness is not emphasized in the Catholic church. She is both the type of person who would and in an environment where she can explore religion and find what really brings her peace. The fact that other men and women were searching for the same thing at this time makes historical sense, too. Ines had her own personal Reformation in South America. 

          Because we know by modern revelation that having a relationship with God (or as we would say, "receiving the Spirit") is just as essential as receiving ordinances, it makes sense that Ines would hunger for more than just what Catholicism offers. She continues faithful to the Catholic church while adopting the "relationship with God" characteristic of the Mapuche. Her spiritual development is not limited to the Seven Sacraments, which is exemplified by this quote.