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.
