Relationships

Díaz's main theme is personal responsibility and the ways in which it sustains an intimate relationship. From the very beginning of the story, Yunior tells the reader—and himself—that he is not such a bad guy even though he cheated on his girlfriend. He makes these comments retrospectively, once the relationship with Magda has ended and there is no longer any hope of reconciliation. Even so, Yunior still fails to accept responsibility for his actions, attributing his infidelity to "causalities" rather than to his selfish behavior. When he and Magda were together, he viewed their relations as an extension of "a nice rhythm [they] had going" or "the momentum of the past" rather than a deliberate effort to establish harmony. Furthermore, he fails to see Magda's change in behavior—she becomes more aloof—as a result of his thoughtlessness. On the contrary, Yunior blames Magda's...