Chapter 7 What is the cause of Enrique's resentment towards his mother?

Enrique makes an incredible journey to reunite with his mother, but quickly discovers that the truth of psychological damage is not easily addressed by idealized images. After Enrique arrives in the United States and settles into a new life with Lourdes, he quickly realizes his idealized version of his mother is inaccurate. She is practically a stranger to him, and he finds it difficult to manage his resentment and anger. He treats her cruelly, and sometimes explicitly accuses her of abandoning him and of not loving him. Despite the independence he showed on his journey, he regresses into a state of childish petulance in the way he lashes out at her, even for factors she cannot control, like the behavior of her roommates. The conflict poses another journey for Enrique, one in which he must come to peace with himself and his past. However, it also speaks to the lasting damage of abandonment, which in his case forces him to work through childhood feelings that had lain dormant for so long.