In the fifth dream, Antonio accepts the role of a priest as his destiny and resists being with sinful women. The brothers, however, remind him that he is a Márez and that some day he too will enjoy physical fulfillment by women; just as he chooses the priesthood as his destiny, he is told by his brothers that the Márez blood will ultimately prevail. Antonio's dream reveals an Oedipal guilt that surfaces when he sees the breasts of a young woman. His increasing understanding of sex between men and women that resulted from his last experience with his brothers is attended by fears of loss of innocence, a viewpoint attributed to his mother. Antonio's internal conflict over his destiny is intensifying. In this dream, the three major sources of understanding in Antonio's world compete to influence him: María, the priest, and Ultima.
This dream foreshadows Andrew's decision to remain with the family but frames his stay in terms of Antonio's loss of innocence. He will leave when Antonio has become a man. Antonio is again torn between competing viewpoints. The brothers maintain that it is natural for men to be with women and that becoming a man involves loss of innocence. In contrast, María sees Antonio losing his innocence by knowing about the sins of the flesh. Antonio wants to maintain his innocence and affirms that decision by refusing to enter the whorehouse. The priest, however, proclaims that Antonio is not innocent at all and must achieve innocence through holy communion with God.
Antonio's ever-growing concern with the contamination of his purity is plainly evident in his dream. He wants to know the path that will allow him to preserve his innocence. The priest emphasizes the rite of holy communion with God, but Antonio is unsure. Overwhelmed by despair, Antonio is calmed by Ultima, who points to his roots in the plains as the location of his innocence.
Antonio's dreams are increasingly revealing the unconscious associations he makes as he grapples with the conflicts and tensions around him and their influences on his own fears and anxieties. He wants to preserve his innocence yet unconsciously considers the possibility of being evil himself. Indeed, part of his anxiety is caused by the increasing recognition that he himself is culpable and tainted with evil, as claimed by the Church.
The next morning, Andrew and Antonio walk together into town. As they get to know each other better, Antonio has the opportunity to ask questions about his destiny. He hopes that their communion with one another will bring him understanding.
By skipping a grade in school, Antonio begins to fulfill his destiny as a person of learning. He also begins to demonstrate some independence when he decides to go fishing with Samuel. Both cognitive and emotional development combine to propel him to a level where initiation into the religion of the golden carp causes him to begin to raise doubts about Catholicism. These doubts begin just as Ultima is called upon to perform a healing. Antonio is drawn into a world of popular superstitions, magic, and the occult by virtue of the religious powers of his middle name, Juan. Ultima's healing of Lucas intensifies Antonio's skepticism about the power of the Catholic faith.
The conflict between good and evil becomes crystallized in the struggle between Ultima and Tenorio, both of whom embody Catholic and non-Christian views. Antonio's struggle to move toward independent critical thinking is intensified by the cosmic struggle that occurs through Ultima and Tenorio.
Understanding of this cosmic struggle is nurtured by the pre-Hispanic and prehistoric past contained in the legend of the golden carp, the knowledge of Ultima, and the content of the tales and superstitions of the people. This prehistoric past links Antonio to the physical landscape in powerful ways. The river's presence, for instance, is a manifestation of an "other" power. Ultima's life is close to nature, and Antonio is realizing that the forces of nature are very much a part of him and his world.
Witnessing the golden carp for the first time, Antonio revels in the epiphany of the moment. He feels a unity with nature that hitherto he had not experienced. However, at the very moment that he considers God and His reproach of pagans, the black bass arrives signifying evil. Cico forces it to leave and harmony with nature is restored, with the boys soaking their feet in the water as the golden carp swims nearby.
As Antonio continues his initiation into the secrets of the past, he learns of the golden carp's apocalyptic prophecy, its concern with moral degeneracy, and the importance of remaining free of sin. Antonio is learning about a different moral order, one that competes with Christianity and sets him on a course toward understanding the relativity of thought. His dream pits the two moral orders against each other, and the tempest that arises from their conflict is calmed only by Ultima, who embodies both orders in a coherent unity.
