What happens in Chapter 15 of Bless Me, Ultima?
Chapter Fifteen, "Quince," marks a turning point in Antonio Marez's journey into adulthood. He witnesses a violent confrontation at Téllez's farm, where strange disturbances—rocks falling from the sky, fire igniting for no reason—have frightened the family. Ultima is called in, and during a tense, ritualistic ceremony, she identifies the problem as a curse from the Trementina sisters, a lingering evil linked to their pact with the devil. She conducts a cleansing ritual, burning herbs and chanting, which brings an end to the disturbances. Throughout this, Antonio pays close attention to her actions, his desire to grasp the concepts of good and evil growing stronger with each detail he notes. Back in Guadalupe, gossip about Ultima escalates; neighbors debate whether her abilities are divine or sinister. Antonio returns home feeling uneasy, torn between the teachings of the Church he is preparing for and the more grounded spiritual understanding that Ultima represents. The chapter concludes with Antonio lying awake, his dreams already flooding in—the golden carp, the voices of his brothers, the call of the owl—as the different belief systems of his childhood clash more intensely.
Analysis
Anaya's craft in "Quince" revolves around a careful doubling of ritual spaces. The Téllez farm transforms into an inverted church: stones fall where prayers should rise, fire destroys instead of illuminating, and Ultima's curandera ceremony takes the place of a priest's exorcism in traditional Catholic narratives. By placing the cure outside institutional religion, Anaya compels Antonio—and the reader—to compare the Church's abstract teachings with the immediate, tangible effectiveness of indigenous healing. The chapter's tone shifts significantly: it opens with the flat, documentary style Anaya uses for community gossip, then builds into a heightened, almost magical rhythm as Ultima performs her work, before settling into the subdued, restless thoughts of Antonio at night. This three-part tonal movement reflects Antonio's own cognitive journey—what he hears from others, his direct experiences, and his personal reflections. The motif of the owl, which serves as Ultima's familiar and spiritual counterpart, resonates throughout the chapter as an auditory presence even when it's not visible, connecting her power to something pre-Christian and hard to define. Anaya also highlights the ongoing tension between the Marez's wandering spirit and the Luna's sense of rootedness: the Téllez farm, isolated on the llano, is Marez territory, and Ultima's success there subtly supports the wild, free-spirited legacy of Antonio's father. The chapter ends with Antonio unable to sleep, as conflicting cosmologies clash; this moment captures the central dramatic irony of the novel, where knowledge grows, yet resolution remains elusive.
Key quotes from Chapter 15
“The power of the doctors and the power of the church had failed to cure Téllez, but Ultima's magic had prevailed.”
Antonio reflects after Ultima's cleansing ceremony succeeds where conventional authorities could not, crystallizing the novel's central challenge to institutional power.
“Good, Ultima had said, and I had felt the surge of her power, like the river in spring flood, uncontainable and fierce.”
Antonio describes the physical sensation of witnessing Ultima's curandera work, fusing natural imagery with spiritual force in a moment of near-mystical identification.
“There was so much to understand, and the days of my youth were running out.”
Antonio's interior voice closes the chapter's reflective passage, compressing the novel's urgency—the race between innocence and knowledge—into a single, quietly devastating line.