Part I: Resistiendo la cultura que me empuja hacia lo liminal Between here and there, we embody the conflicting reality that we live in, in which patriarchal paradigms reign. In given world women are suppressed via culture. But it is the woman of color who carries most of the burden, for she is typically separated from her homeland and marginalized in Western society. Nevertheless, she is known for her resistance, not her captivity. In “Movimientos de rebeldía y culturas que traicionan,” Gloria Anzaldúa discusses; cultural tyranny, liminality, and resistance, all of which are highly relevant topics in both of Sandra Cisneros’ stories; “Woman Hollering Creek” and “Never Marry a Mexican.” According to Anzaldúa, cultural tyranny shapes our beliefs
La voz a ti debida has received criticism from a number of academics for being a misogynistic work of poetry and is described as “androcentric” by Bermúdez. The theme of possession is widespread in the poem, along with the objectification of the amada, both anti-feminist elements of Salinas’s work. In addition to this, the beloved is portrayed as empty and lifeless, only acting as a hindrance to the happiness of the narrator, whether she loves him or does not. The amada’s power is only weakened by her lack of voice, taken from her by Salinas. The theme of possession is prevalent from the onset and throughout La Voz a ti Debida.
This open rejection provides insight into Fermina’s value of independence, a value so ingrained that she refuses the concept that higher power guide her actions, or of others. However, she is made to transition into a domestic role. For the largest part of her youth, Fermina Daza longed for independence and rebelled against her father, and once again when married, “she felt herself losing her mind, as the mad woman [screaming] in the asylum next door” (207). Marquez metaphorically shows the way Fermina is unhappy in her house, but also the way she is controlled. As a result of male influence, her freedoms are being deprived and she is being forced into a domestic role she dislikes.
CRA: Anzaldua Borderlands In her poem “Borderlands,” Gloria Anzaldua strategically exposes readers to the true form of the Borderlands region as she conveys the internal incongruity that is rife with this state. As she characterizes the nature of the Borderlands, extending the idea of the Borderlands from a geographical region to an extensive social phenomenon, Anzaldua emulates an experience that is shared by many; conquered by fear. Anzaldua cogently employs the use of distinct structural elements within her poem as a form of illustrative depiction in order to express to readers the strenuous relationship between the inhabitants and their environment. The essence of this relationship is expressed through the internal conflict, both within
For second-generation Italian American immigrants, like Paul and Gerlando, bella figura, or the idea of knowing how to properly interact with others in social situations, is often taught through folklores with moral lessons. The lessons taught from stories, like those of Annichia and the importance of shrewdness and Gisueppe Scalla and the concept of “true justice” (Mangione 194), act as a basic framework for younger generations of immigrant to model their behaviors on throughout their adolescence and adulthood. Others, like those about Maureen Daniels, the strafalaria, or Cicca and her tyrant father, Don Antonio, warned younger generations of the consequences of going against family values and of over-assimilating into American culture. In Christ in Concrete, however, di Donato portrays how the influences of descent relations on behavior through the idea of familial responsibility, or the theme of continuity between father and son. When looking for a job, Paul not only inherits his father’s career as a craftsman, or as commented by Nazone, “a born artist of brick and mortar” (di Donato 69), but also consents to becoming both a bricklayer and the father of the family.
The quandary around female autonomy in Latin American fictions particularly Isabel Allende’s novel The House of the Spirits and Cristina Garcia’s Lourdes Puentes, is depicted in a multitude of ways. The portrayal and experiences of female characters is one determining factor. Alongside the very concept “female” exist due to biological differences between male and female, making male characters part of the equation equivalent to the dilemma of female autonomy. Female rebellion echoes autonomy in The House of the Spirits as the female characters revolt through numerous distinct actions against pre-imposed ideologies. Clara makes use of communication as “war zone”, according to Virginia Satir this phenomenon is due when a person feels that his
Furiosa subverts gender norms to an extreme and portrays a utopian image of women – visually she is the antithesis of Immortan Joe’s wives who have been made to obey the enforced standards for women in the film. They juxtapose each other starkly when they are in the same shot, as seen in figure 1, with the light and dark colours. The whiteness of the wives’ clothes that flow in the wind show a projected sense of purity which they are meant to abide by, whereas, Furiosa is harsh and dark which shows her rebellion. The lack of hair is significant since, traditionally, long hair is prized on females, however, Furiosa adopts a conventionally masculine haircut. This is important as she is transcending gender boundaries and not restricting herself to the patriarchy’s expectations – she is both masculine and feminine.
The greater part of the aching, agony and ensnarement Yerma feels as well as inside the requesting society she lives in, is delineated clearly through symbolism. Therefore, her character is characterised through the symbolism of nature, birth, ripeness and barrenness. Yerma is intensely entangled not merely inside herself as she is despondent in her activities, but, likewise within the traditional Spanish culture in which she
Marianismo comes into play as it determines the roles of women and allows for the deflowering of Angela to play such a vital role in the events of Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Pura del Carmen Vicario is known to have frequently said "Any man will be happy with them because they 've been raised to suffer.” in reference to her daughters who in this sense were raised in such a way as to be the perfect wives and be instilled with the aspects of Marianismo (representation of feminine purity and morality as determined by the Vatican) despite what they may personally wish to do with themselves as individuals. Angela, however defies this idea initially by making no efforts to hide her virginity despite the assistance of her friends as they “had instructed her to get her husband drunk… turn out the light… give herself a drastic douche of alum water to fake virginity… stain the sheet with Mercurochrome”(53) only to realize the drastic consequences it would hold as she claimed her mother began “beating [her]... with such rage that [she] thought [her mother] was going to kill [her]” before demanding that she “tell us who it was” (28) in reference to herself and Angela’s brothers as she knew the next steps that must be taken to enforce the codes of honor on the
In her work Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood Mernissi proves that, as Rhouni claims, ‘’Foregrounding women’s agency, the novel is an attempt to decenter feminism from its Western location where it supposedly has originated, locating it in Moroccan culture and even within the confines of the harem” . Furthermore, patriarchy is another hindrance that women have to deal with in the Moroccan context and elsewhere; in the sense that, women