Anna in the Tropics Lesson Plan

When Marela admits to "sweetening" Juan Julian's name, her mother tells her "that's how witches get started...then they begin to play with fire." What does Ofelia mean by this? What do you expect might happen after Ofelia mentions this? What does this tell us about Ofelia?

Ofelia means both the literal and colloquial meanings of the phrase "playing with fire": that witches both play with actual fire in their witchcraft and that the witchcraft itself is tempting fate or God. One could reasonably expect that Marela will continue to dabble in what her mother calls witchcraft despite her mother's warnings. This also signals to the reader that Ofelia is a strong presence...