How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

“Sisters don’t always get along. But even when we fight, we eat dinner together, like a religion. Always we are two apartments but one house.”

Cara and her sister Ángela’s differences in parenting and personality create conflict and tension despite their mutual reliance on each other for survival. The metaphorical image of two apartments and one house illustrates The Importance of Familial and Community Support, as the sisters’ need for unity overcomes the tension of their current differences.

“But now Antonia spits on her mother. That’s what therapists make you do. They make you spit on your mother.”

Cara’s dislike of the American norm of therapy and her belief that it undermines family connections both reflect her Dominican upbringing, which supports a very different approach to dealing with trauma. Cara’s belief that therapy encourages children to blame their mothers for their problems reveals her own inner conflict. She refuses to take responsibility for her estrangement with her son Fernando out of fear of undermining her identity as a good mother.

“Desahogar: to undrown, to cry until you don’t need to cry no more… When Ángela saw me cry, my sister said, You’re drowning in a glass of water.”

Ángela implies that Cara’s reaction to Fernando’s decision to run away is more intense than the situation warrants. This declaration further fuels Cara’s resentment of Ángela, who enjoyed a closer relationship with Fernando before he left. Mutual resentment drives the conflict between the sisters throughout the novel.