Inability to Find Meaning in Suffering
Pascual recognizes the pain of his life, even knowing that he was born into a uniquely troubled home. He interprets his circumstances through the lens of entitlement, never considering that perhaps he cannot choose his circumstances but he may choose his response. By refusing to take charge of his life, he fails to find meaning for his suffering. The experience of suffering can become valuable and essential to a person's life if viewed through the lens of greater, personal meaning. People are wiling to suffer even martyrdom for external causes in which they believe, but Pascual remains trapped internally. He does not have enough objectivity to consider the nature of suffering, viewing it instead as a personal plague.
Shame
When he first begins to talk of openly hating his mother, Pascual says it is because he suspects that she, along with Lola, blames him for the death of his son. She has said or done nothing to support this theory, but Pascual invents the idea in his mind and allows it to fester. Essentially he is projecting his own shame onto an exterior source -- his mother. Because she was a neglectful and abusive mother when he was young, she presents an easy target. After all, she was responsible for setting his expectations about life, love, and health; however, Pascual is not a child anymore. If he forgave his mother for her terrible parenting, he could free himself from her influence and take charge of what he wants for himself, but instead he projects his own shame onto her. He blames her for insinuating his guilt, an idea which is born out of his own conscience. By projecting this shame, Pascual eventually disassociates himself from his conscience.
Sociopathy and a Lack of Meaningful Relationships
Following the example of his mother, Pascual becomes a sociopath over the course of his story. He demonstrates certain sociopathic propensities as a child, but he really transforms after losing his son. Up to that point, he had failed to form many meaningful relationships in his life. He seems to connect with Rosario and Lola, but he abandons them just as quickly as he commits to them. Additionally, as an adolescent, he remains silent during the abuse of his mentally and physically handicapped little brother, even after the child's "accidental" death. After the funeral, he has sex with Lola right there in front of the grave. Later in life, he kills helpless animals -- his horse and dog. These are not the actions of someone who connects with people or considers human life valuable. The problem is that Pascual does not consider others. In his mind, he is the only real person, a symptom of narcissism which blossoms into sociopathy when he projects his conscience onto his mother. By the time he decides to blame his mom for his suffering, Pascual has already become a person capable of extreme violence. Then he commits a series of murders.
Misfortune and Fate
Pascual attributes the suffering of his life to the broad idea of misfortune. He believes in fate. He does not, however, consider the suffering of people around him. In his consideration he is uniquely plagued, calling his affliction the "dark star," which he later conflates with his mother, believing she has some evil influence upon him. Although he is correct in concluding that not all of his unfortunate circumstances are under his control, Pascual overgeneralizes. He does need to accept responsibility for his violence and the failures in his intimate relationships, but even in those situations he blames fate, believing he is not allowed to be successful or happy. He does endure a great deal of suffering, but ultimately Pascual is still responsible for his own happiness. If he had ever stopped to consider the suffering of those around him, he would have found the objectivity to consider the nature of human life, which necessarily includes suffering. By refusing to do so, he chooses his own fate, which is to remain trapped in a psychological nightmare.
