41 pages • 1 hour read
Ana CastilloSo Far from God
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaChapters 7-9 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary:“Caridad Reluctantly Returns Home to Assume a Life as What Folks in “Fanta Se” Call a Channeler”
During Caridad’s absence, doña Felicia rents out her trailer to a young couple with a baby on the way. More and more family memberstake up residence in the trailer, until there are six adults, five children, and a dog. The family gradually stops paying rent and, after six months, leaves the trailer in the middle of the night and steals all of Caridad’s remaining possessions.
Caridad returns to the trailer after a year, and doña Felicia welcomes her. Caridad’s powers have increased, and “Eventually word got around and Caridad earned herself a respectable reputation as a medium if not as a miracle worker” (119). Caridad now has the power to hear a client’s problem, allow herself to dream about them, and then provide accurate answers or solutions.
Chapter 8 Summary:“What Appears to Be a Deviation of Our Story but Wherein, with some Patience, the Reader Will Discover That There Is Always More Than the Eye Can See to Any Account”
We step away from the main characters and instead focus on two women in a relationship: Maria, a tarot card reader and social worker; and Helena, a landscaper. The two women head from their home in California to the city of Truchas, New Mexico, which is Maria’s, “true native homeland” (123), andwhere her ancestors have been buried. Though they were once in love, at this point in time, Maria and Helena’s affections have diminished.
On the road to their destination, a pickup truck pulls up behind their VW on the highway and drives extremely close, even with Helena’s attempts to let it pass. Eventually, the pickup bumps and attempts to sideswipe their vehicle. When Helena pulls up next to it, the driver points a rifle at the two women, and Helena gains speed and pulls into a gas station. The man in the pickup catches up, gets out of the car, and again approaches the two women, asking, “What d’you want around here, bitch? Come to make some trouble?” (127) The gas station proprietor informs the two women that they are out of gas, and Helena and Maria drive off confused as to the treatment they received.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Sofia, Who Would Never Again Let Her Husband Have the Last Word, Announces to the Amazement of Her Familia and Vecinos Her Decision to Run for La Mayor of Tome”
After becoming fed up with the unresolved problems around her house and in her impoverished community, Sofi decides to become the mayor of Tome two days after her 53rd birthday. She announces her decision to her nearby “gossip comadre” (friend) who she recruits as a campaign manager (143). Domingo objects to Sofi’s plan and gets into a heated debate with the comadre but ultimately bows to Sofi’s will.
Even though there is no official position of mayor in Tome, Sofi nonetheless campaigns with her comadre and, “people began to respond to Sofi’s “campaign,” which they did not see as a mayoral one so much as one to “rescue Tome” (146). Sofi’s efforts yield considerable results in the community, starting with a sheep-grazing, wool-weaving enterprise, which, over the years, provides jobs to many women and makes an arrangement with the junior college so that women can work for college credit. From there, Sofi sells her Meat Market, and it develops into a food co-op, eventually establishing a low-interest loan fund for the members. Another group of people in the community develop an anti-drug force to combat drugs in schools.
Domingo does not contribute to any of these endeavors and feels useless. He decides to build Caridad’s adobe in Chimayo and finishes it in six months, at which point he asks Sofi if he can come back home.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Character development in these chapters further solidifies the theme of women empowering themselves to reverse the patriarchal paradigm. Caridad returns with her powers more fully realized: “Her dreams were not hits and misses no more like in the beginning, but very clear messages which, with the help of her mentor, doña Felicia, she became adept at interpreting” (118). She now fully realizes her potential and more deeply connects to her role as a healer and a seer.
Sofi openly refuses to be powerless in her home and her community.It starts on a small scale, with Domingo, who refuses to fix anything around the house. Here, Sofi recognizes on a micro level her unwillingness to suffer Domingo’s laziness and lack of contribution to the household. This realization on the home front leads to her decision to extend her force into the community. She effects a great deal of change. Like Caridad, Sofi has the power to heal in the community. Both women give comfort, answers, and support, though on different levels.
These power dynamics are complicated by the story of Maria and Helena. On one hand, they are lesbian women who thwart societal standards and thrive without male guidance. However, on the road to Truchas, they still fall victim to male aggression. As Helena notes, “Two women with spiked hair and camping gear strapped to the top of their car were probably not from around here” (127). Even though Maria and Helena live life as who they are, they still encounter intolerance and male aggression as part of the dominant social construct in New Mexico.
Character development in these chapters further solidifies the theme of women empowering themselves to reverse the patriarchal paradigm. Caridad returns with her powers more fully realized: “Her dreams were not hits and misses no more like in the beginning, but very clear messages which, with the help of her mentor, doña Felicia, she became adept at interpreting” (118). She now fully realizes her potential and more deeply connects to her role as a healer and a seer.
Sofi openly refuses to be powerless in her home and her community.It starts on a small scale, with Domingo, who refuses to fix anything around the house. Here, Sofi recognizes on a micro level her unwillingness to suffer Domingo’s laziness and lack of contribution to the household. This realization on the home front leads to her decision to extend her force into the community. She effects a great deal of change. Like Caridad, Sofi has the power to heal in the community. Both women give comfort, answers, and support, though on different levels.
These power dynamics are complicated by the story of Maria and Helena. On one hand, they are lesbian women who thwart societal standards and thrive without male guidance. However, on the road to Truchas, they still fall victim to male aggression. As Helena notes, “Two women with spiked hair and camping gear strapped to the top of their car were probably not from around here” (127). Even though Maria and Helena live life as who they are, they still encounter intolerance and male aggression as part of the dominant social construct in New Mexico.
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By Ana Castillo
