Political Struggles Of Chican Women
The political struggles of Chicana women during the 1960s and 1970s heavily involved a confrontation with both sexism and racism. At the time, the Chicano Movement was fighting against the discrimination and oppressive nature against Mexican Americans present within the United States. The culturally nationalistic movement stressed both freedom and liberation for the population. However, the immediate constraints of male domination within Chicana women’s daily lives helped mold a concern of the traditional gender roles within a patriarchal society. It seemed hypocritical that it was only men that were deemed able to achieve freedom and liberation (García). As a result, emerging Chicana feminists initiated a critique of the very concept of the …show more content…
“Then the moths came. Small, gray ones that came from her soul and out through her mouth fluttering to light, circling the single dull light bulb of the bathroom (Viramontes 37).” The moths in the final scene parallel religious imagery, with the light and moths representing heaven and the angels bringing Abuelita’s spirit to safety, respectively. In this moment, the narrator truly encounters a metamorphosis.
The moths catalyze the revelation apparent in the granddaughter. Moths are never too far from concepts of transformation, given the metamorphosis they take during their incredible lives. In a way, the narrator is reborn and develops into a better state of living. She metamorphoses from a traditional Chicana role to a more believing, autonomous role, previously suppressed by the tyrannous patriarchy.
Viramontes’ narrative criticizes the notion of traditional family roles featuring fathers as protectors and mothers as passive, showing how it can create a divide between family members. Instead, Viramontes suggests that there is a need for an alternative form of Chicana womanhood. In offering a tradition, such as folk remedies, which provides a way for women to take on the role of active cultural protector, Viramontes joins with other Chicana feminist writers who illustrate that it is not necessary to accept sexism in order to maintain a Chicana
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