Patriarchal Resistance In The Festival Of San Joaquin

In Spain and the Spanish colonies in South America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, gender roles were distinct and the opportunity gap was enormous. Catalina de Erauso compares the two roles through her memoir, “Lieutenant Nun,” where she recounts her life as a transvestite in both the new and old world. Through having experienced the structured life of a woman as well as the freedom involved in being a man, de Erauso formed an identity for herself that crossed the boundaries of both genders. Catalina de Erauso’s life demonstrates the gap in freedom and opportunity for women, as compared to men, in the areas of culture, politics and economy, and religion.

When referring to Juana and the Garcia family, it is critical to pay close attention to the family roles. Juana’s family dynamic consisted of Lupe taking care of the home and family and Miguel being the breadwinner (Grande, 2007). The empowerment theory and feminist theory would really have some positive outcomes with the Garcia family. The feminist theory can really help Juana and Lupe to become more dominant and realize the power and strength in themselves as women.

In this essay, female oppression in La Casa de Bernarda Alba will be discussed and analyzed. However, in order to be able to understand the importance of this theme and the impact it has had on the play, one must first understand the role of female oppression in the Spanish society in the 1930s.

You can see how Maria’s El Salvador is empty of people, full only of romantic ideas. Jose Luis’s image of El Salvador, in contrast, totally invokes manufactured weapons; violence. Maria’s “self-projection elides Jose Luis’s difference” and illustrates “how easy it is for the North American characters, including the big-hearted María, to consume a sensationalized, romanticized, or demonized version of the Salvadoran or Chicana in their midst” (Lomas 2006, 361). Marta Caminero-Santangelo writes: “The main thrust of the narrative of Mother Tongue ... continually ... destabilize[s] the grounds for ... a fantasy of connectedness by emphasizing the ways in which [Maria’s] experience as a Mexican American and José Luis’s experiences as a Salvadoran have created fundamentally different subjects” (Caminero-Santangelo 2001, 198). Similarly, Dalia Kandiyoti points out how Maria’s interactions with José Luis present her false assumptions concerning the supposed “seamlessness of the Latino-Latin American connection” (Kandiyoti 2004, 422). So the continual misinterpretations of José Luis and who he really is and has been through on Maria’s part really show how very far away her experiences as a middle-class, U.S.-born Chicana are from those of her Salvadoran lover. This tension and resistance continues throughout their relationship.

Thesis statement: Esperanza has a variety of female role models in her life. Many are trapped in abusive relationships, waiting for others to change their lives. Some are actively trying to change things on their own. Through these women and Esperanza’s reactions to them, Cisneros’ shows not only the hardships women face, but also explores their power to overcome them.

Based on Cisneros’ works of literature, gender roles in a Hispanic culture revolves around patriarchal rule. The repercussions of a patriarchal rule includes the limitations of female liberation and development. Cleofilas’ abusive situation exemplifies the limitations of her independence and development as she can not make her own decisions and has to solely depend on her husband. This situation is illustrated when Cleofilas explains that the towns are “built so that you have to depend on husbands... You can drive only if you’re rich enough to own and drive an own car. There is no place to go” (Cisneros 628). Cleofilas reveals that men are the dominant gender and have more authority, and that women are compelled to depend on them in her society. It is an exceptionally rare case that a woman can afford her own car, for the men usually control the finances in a household. Additionally, Cleofilas has nowhere to seek refuge from her husband. Although she yearns to return to her father’s home, she decides not to due to the social standards imposed on her. In her society, the act of returning home after marriage is socially unacceptable. She understands that her family will be viewed in a negative light if she were to return home, as seen when Cleofilas refers to her town as a “town of gossips” (627). Similar to other men in the society, Juan Pedro’s authority is shown through his abuse. Cleofilas recalls, “He slapped her once, and then again, and again; until the lip split and bled an orchid of blood” (626).

Traditionally the Spanish world throughout the 1960s saw women confined by socially constructed roles that were considered acceptable for their gender (Preston, 2015). These social norms restricted women from opportunities in both private and public spheres of life, and the role of a woman was deemed as no more than a wife, mother and homemaker (O’Connor, 2012; Culture 2016). With female identity strongly equated with roles that were deemed ‘feminine’, these oppressed notions dictated what women could or could not achieve and encouraged the continuation of patriarchal hierarchies (Brown, 2006). In many Spanish families, women were raised to obey the orders from their fathers and husbands, and continue traditional family obligations (Vazquez, 1998). This also meant

“Beautiful and Cruel” marks the beginning of Esperanza’s “own quiet war” against machismo (Hispanic culture powered by men). She refuses to neither tame herself nor wait for a husband, and this rebellion is reflected in her leaving the “table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate (Cisneros 89).” Cisneros gives Esperanza a self-empowered voice and a desire for personal possessions, thing that she can call her own: Esperanza’s “power is her own (Cisneros 89).” Cisneros discusses two important themes: maintaining one’s own power and challenging the cultural and social expectations one is supposed to fulfill. Esperanza’s mission to create her own identity is manifest by her decision to not “lay (her) neck on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain (Cisneros 88).” Cisneros’ rough language and violent images of self-bondage reveal the contempt with which Esperanza views many of her peers whose only goal is to become a wife. To learn how to guard her power

During the Spanish ruling, the Spanish mentality of conquest is that the role of women is to be a housewife and take care of the children while men’s role is to be the provider, worker, and protector of the family. Women were not given the right to work, own property, or attain jobs, without the permission of their spouse. The purpose of life for a woman is to marry and establish an alliance, ultimately creating a peaceful situation at home. Catalina vows to go against deeply ingrained gender norms; implanted in every society lives distinct gender roles for both men and women, with that there are specific ways that those roles can be violated or subverted. Catalina attempts to threaten the social order, as she asserts her power by dressing up as a man as it allows her better opportunities than appearing as a woman. Catalina's gender presentation of herself as a stereotypical male, being abrasive and quick to anger when anyone challenges her masculinity, demonstrates the minimal opportunities for women in Spanish society. Erauso assertion that the “nun’s habit becomes useless and I threw it away, I cut my hair and threw it away” demonstrates that the trappings of womanhood are not working for her. By becoming a man, Catalina succeeds more, due to the fact that men were granted better opportunities such as the right to join the armada where she sets sail for Spain, or the right to go to Madrid and meet with the King, or the right to gamble in Charcas.

Louise Pubols, Fathers of the Pueblo: Patriarchy and Power in Mexican California, 1800-1880, article concentrated on the de la Guerra family from Santa Barbara, California. Pubols expresses to her audience that she wants to depict Mexicans from California Mexico in a different style from the usual. Pubols starts off by giving the reader a simple description of the way the California Mexican is usually presented. Typically, Californian Mexicans have little to no agency; they lose all their land and belongings and are lost to history. Pubols uses the de la Guerra family to show that California Mexicans not only had agency but also played a large part in society. Pubols second argument was that patriarchal language was being used to describe the de la Guerra’s family governance within their community.

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the reader gets a sense of what the expectations are of Dominican men and women. Junot Díaz uses Oscar in contrast to the other male characters to present the expectations of the Dominican male. On the other hand, Díaz presents the women in the text, especially Belicia, La Inca, Lola, and Jenni, as strong characters in their own rights, but the male characters, with the exception of Oscar, have a desire to display their masculinity to maintain power over these women. It would be unfair to say that the women bring the abuse unto themselves, but rather it is their culture that makes the abuse acceptable and almost to a certain extent—expected.

The story illustrates the overlapping influences of women’s status and roles in Mexican culture, and the social institutions of family, religion, economics, education, and politics. In addition, issues of physical and mental/emotional health, social deviance and crime, and social and personal identity are

Julia Alvarez also uses language to show how the four Garcia girls adjust to living in a new, and to them alien, culture. The protagonist in this novel is the family Garcia de la Torre, a wealthy, aristocratic family from the Santo Domingo, who can trace their genealogy back to the Spanish

Being a good mother is the ability to conduct the child from the place of uncertainty, insecurity and not knowing, to the inside of the enclosure where all is safe and understandable. Good mothers protect and provide for their family all costs. Though sometimes, that’s untrue. Sometimes a child might feel the need to help his impoverished mother out by any means necessary. Though their intentions are good, the public perceives their action as criminal. In the story “Tuesday Siesta” by author “Gabríel Garcia Márquez”, such a situation exists. A mother raised her son to the best of her ability and tried to keep him out of trouble. The town views her as a

The Festival of San Joaquin is the third novel of Belizean writer, Zee Edgell, which focuses on gender roles and relationships between the protagonist, Luz Marina, and other women of different social class. Interestingly, the narrative takes place during the festival of the patron saint, an event that represents the Mestizo culture. The novel is set in the village of San Joaquin and quickly progresses as Luz Marina’s life story unfolds resulting in the self-defense murder of Salvador, who is her abusive common-law- husband. Luz Marina shares three Mestizo children with Salvador and her relationship with him is overseen by his mother, Dona Catalina. The novel presents three types of women: submissive Mama Sofia, trapped Dona Catalina, and rebellious