In his final dream, Antonio sees the three figures that he was helpless to save, both physically and spiritually. The destruction of his three sources of understanding—God, the golden carp, and Ultima—leaves nothing for him to believe in, and he is filled with horror and great despair. Upon rejecting the violence he sees, he is told that violence contains the seeds of creation. This points to the resolution of conflict, albeit in the apocalyptic view that some must die in order for others to live. The statement by the departing figures that they exist only in his dreams points out to Antonio that his concerns are not necessarily part of the external world, that he can stop their dream-wanderings.
The dream foreshadows Antonio's shift from absolutist thinking to relativism. To transcend absolutism, one must withdraw one's commitment to a particular perspective in order to be able to appreciate other perspectives. Antonio's transcendence intimates a cosmic death balanced by regeneration and rebirth. Out of conflict and chaos comes a new level of understanding that restores unity and harmony to the world. But this understanding, as portended by the dream, is something he must achieve on his own. Ultimately, individuals must live their own lives in accordance with their own views.
Before leaving for El Puerto, Antonio learns from Ultima that he should grow strong from the experiences of life rather than despair from them. He learns that growth involves change and that he should accept changes in life. When Ultima blesses him, she does so in a pagan rather than a Christian way. Antonio has come to accept non-Christian views and feels quite comfortable with them. He knows that holy blessings are not limited to the Church.
Antonio's talk with his father on their way to El Puerto is crucial to his development because it reveals new understandings to him and furnishes many answers to his questions. First, it makes clear to him what he has been seeking: independence of thought. He learns that he must assume responsibility for his own behavior and not look any longer to his mother for constant guidance.
Second, he learns that his father has given up on his dreams; things have changed and certain lifestyles are no longer possible. Such is also the case with his mother's dreams, and Antonio knows that he has to make a life of his own, one that incorporates his past in a unique way with his life in the present. He knows he has to build a strong life out of the elements that have been handed to him by the past and the present.
Finally, he learns how understanding comes about and how people fear that which they don't understand. Understanding comes through living; it involves having sympathy for others and recognizing our mutual interdependence as human beings. Problems and difficulties in life are overcome by the magical strength of the human heart. It is Ultima's understanding that is the source of her magic.
With the Lunas, Antonio finds peace within himself, and his nightmares cease. He feels the rhythms of the universe by working the fields in accordance with the cycles of the moon. Although he affirms himself as a Márez, he knows the Lunas are also part of his being. He is at peace with himself on this regard.
His encounter with Tenorio reveals Ultima's identity as the night-spirit. Running to warn her, Antonio overcomes his fear of darkness and escapes the death call of la llorona. He runs with resolution because now he runs to fight evil, unlike in the early part of the novel, when he ran away from the horror of darkness and the death of Lupito.
Ultima's death marks the birth of Antonio's manhood. His initiation into a deeper understanding has begun. He is no longer afraid of death and does not have to look to the gods of his dreams for direction because he knows to look within himself and to life for strength. Antonio is able to accept Ultima's death as part of the great cycle that is revealed to him in his dreams. The universe is ordered and there is a purpose to everything, but human understanding discovers this truth only through a lifetime of experience. In the end, it is being at peace with oneself, others, and nature that makes one at peace with the universe.
