It is an irony that something that can raise a person to their highest level has the same power to dissolve it. In the case of Caballero, pride and vision fuel the Mendoza family to establish an hacienda and be respected among their peers. This greatness, in their eyes, is the fruit of hard work, family, and traditions followed through many generations. Through the course of the novel, pride remains a key element in Don …showed first 75 words of 1468 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1468 total…broken by the power of love. This custom, now broken by his sister, indirectly relayed that what his daughters did was good. Could Don Santiago de Mendoza y Soria be wrong? No, his pride would be somehow tarnished or hurt if it were. And if he does not have pride or tradition, what does he have? Ultimately, in his eyes, his position as head of a wealthy and respectable family had come to an end.