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On one hand, Esperanza has just been badly wounded. Her beloved Angel, however, is an expert at healing, not because he is a holy angel, but because he is a wrestler who frequently gets injured himself and has blue ointment in his truck. He explains that red meat is better than white meat to treat a bruise, but chicken must suffice. His ointment, he says helpfully, is "the closest you can get this ointment is near a race track in Tijuana, just ask horse," and the ointment does heal Esperanza's wound, even though it is not offered to her in a romantic way -- just like the raw chicken (224).
Esperanza feels guilty for falling in love with Angel because she feels that she should only act like a mother, living only for her daughter, rather than thinking of herself. She does not think that she should take delight in the pleasures of the world any more....
It is easier to deal with her image of herself a good, Catholic mother believing in angels and the Church, and not admit her physical desire towards men on the earth if she only allows herself to fall in love with spiritual guides.
Despite her view of spirituality, however, Esperanza does not idealize the man she loves, or men and general. She tells Angel that despite his name and his ethnicity, he is "more gringo than a cheeseburger and fries" (224) There is a part of Esperanza that always remains grounded in reality and physicality, no matter how far-flung her fantastic notions about life and death may be. Angel teachers her that she is still capable of falling in love and participating in life.
38-71 Such a big funeral, so much crying, so much pain, and I buried nothing" (70). Esperanza is in a state of extreme grief, so she expresses her doubt at the ability of the rituals of the Catholic Church to heal her emotional wounds. She believes her daughter, against all physical odds and evidence is still alive, so the funeral seems futile -- hence the sense that she has buried nothing.
Esperanza's Box of Saints pp. 106-129 By the way Esperanza, you are only allowed to be in your room and the common areas of the house" (128). As she speaks to Esperanza, issuing this brusque command, Dona Trini's face is like "an old male" mackerel and Dona Trini seems like a tough emotional nut to crack. But Esperanza, just as she took Father Salvador off guard, makes people like her character
Pages 159-160: "Things like this didn't happen to him. Not even in court" (Escandon 159). Scott's decision to bring Esperanza over the border with him is a big decision for him, and the author makes that clear by his reactions. Sweaty palms, memories, and unreality show he is uncertain and yet excited about this adventure, and that he has real feelings for Esperanza that he does not quite understand. Then again,
7. Esperanza was being asked (or told) by Dona Trini that she was going to have to service more clients than just Mr. Haynes, and Esperanza told Dona that maybe an enemy was using a spell against her. Dona told Esperanza that she could think of eight enemies already. 8. Haynes was smuggling Esperanza across the border, and was sweating profusely. The immigration officer at first waved him through, but then