Sofia's defiance of her father's overprotective nature.

Sofia was sent to the Dominican Republic as a punishment for using marijuana, though she ended up getting into more trouble by spending time without a chaperone with her illegitimate cousin, Manuel.

Sofia planned to reconcile with her father during a birthday party. She broke tradition, in that the daughters would usually come home for their father's birthday, but she hosts the party at her house to show off her German husband and two blond children. She and her father had fought when he accused her of sleeping around during a trip to Colombia, where she met her husband, Otto. She ran away from home to assert her independence, and later married Otto. Though the party was going …show more content…

The conflict between Sofia and her father grows out of the gap between these two cultural perspectives. Sofia feels that it is her right to explore her sexuality however she pleases while also enjoying the privacy and independence of adulthood. Her father, on the other hand, feels that the presence of loose women in his house disrespects his parental and male authority. His definition of loose turns on Sofia's status as a single woman, since Catholic ideology does not condone a woman having sex before marriage.

Sofia's flight from her father's house represents her desire to assert her own independent authority as a woman and as an adult. It is key to note, however, that she does not pursue an independent lifestyle, but goes straight to Germany to search for Otto. She trades her father's protection and authority for that of a husband. This act is meant to highlight her father's impotence to exert future influence over her sexuality.

The kiss is significant because Sofia reveals to her father in a very physical way the extent and nature of her sensuality. She also publicly humiliates him as she flaunts her sexuality in front of their guests. Because sexual contact between a father and daughter is considered incest, she also flirts with breaking this taboo when she arouses his desires with the kiss. Even though she is a married woman with two children, she still feels compelled to draw attention to his inability to control her sexual