[Beth]

I do think José's changed somehow by his 'adventure'. He's emboldened a bit as to things he does and doesn't do at work. Thus, knowing himself a little more, he's still having a different name, a different self, not just the one he was given by the state or the Central Registry. It almost feels like a tentative success for José in making that leap from passivity to something close to action. I agree fully with your first paragraph and the importance of the new 'relationship' with the woman, and peripherally, the old woman, the parents, the Registrar. Maybe this is all there is for José, but it still feels like a change for the better. Or maybe I'm just a cockeyed optimist.