La Voz A Ti Debida Analysis

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 is seen even in the very beginning of the poem in the first fragment. The first few stanzas of the poem describe the amada’s reflection in the mirror that the narrator admires every morning “al despertar”. This image of the amada in the mirror is almost as if the narrator is attempting to freeze his lover in an attempt to understand her “enigmas” because, in the mirror, they become “cosas tan claras”. Bermúdezz explains that the amada in the mirror is a flat image, easy for the narrator to comprehend, and she is able to recognise that she is simply “someone else’s object of affection” (332). Throughout the poem, as the amada becomes more self confident and more extroverted, particularly in group settings, the narrator explains that he does not know or understand his lover. Because of this, the “yo” voice, the voice of the narrator,