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.