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.
