The Ties That Bind comprises the first collection of critical essays that explore the family system in Spanish and Latin American culture. This thought-provoking volume addresses the intersection of language, narrative structure, social reality, and family dynamics through examples from a diverse range of literary works, including Cervantes' Don Quijote, Reinaldo Arenas' Celestino antes del alba, and the Chicano film My Family/Mi Familia. Issues of feminism, gender and sexuality, abuse, trauma, and communication take the forefront in this ground-breaking book, which takes psychological literary criticism a step beyond traditional psychoanalytical approaches.