The death of the child La Loca and her funeral are powerful opening images that indicate clearly and strongly the direction of this story. From unexplained violence to Sleeping-Beauty-like death, then to rebellion, which transforms her to a living and respected female healer, La Loca's journey in the first few pages presages the journeys of each of her sisters and her mother in the rest of the novel.

Significantly, La Loca's journey is four-part and she is also one of four sisters/daughters—Loca, Fe, Caridad, and Esperanza. The number four is particularly important in many Native American cosmologies because it represents the earth's directions and air currents. It is symbolic of a balance of elements, including both the material and spiritual, as well as the links between them. In The Sacred Hoop, Paula Gunn Allen cites numerous examples of the prevalence of four as an organizing...