"I gotta go.” He turns, shows me the back of his head, his hair, his shoulders. Now I see it, now I don’t. “I’m pregnant.” He stops in profile. His nose is like a knife. “And?”…..."It’s yours.” “What?” “Yours.”

Manny shakes his head. The knife cuts….”I ain’t got nothing here,” he says. Manny blinks at me when he says it. Looks at me head-on, for the second time ever. “Nothing.” (203)

 This conversation Esch has with Manny closely parallels Medea’s own rejection from Jason after the retrieval of the Golden Fleece and their marriage. Ward connects Esch and Medea through their care and devotion to the men they love, both of whom use and abandon the two girls for their own selfish purposes. Furthermore, just as Jason intends to leave Medea as “a woman in exile with helpless little children (Mythology 128)” , Manny deserts Esch with their child, leaving the baby unprotected and fatherless. Both Esch and Medea’s lovers are in denial of their own faults as well, with Manny refusing to admit he impregnated Esch and Jason believing “[Medea’s] exile was her own fault only (Mythology 129).” This passage reflects a point in the novel where Esch can not stand Manny and his apathy towards her, and finally takes a stand against him. As a result of this conversation she attacks Manny physically, similar to how Medea kills Jason’s bride as revenge when she learns he wants to exile her. This passage highlights a turning point for Esch, where she realizes Manny’s detachment and becomes independent, imitating Medea’s independence from the man that was using her.