Comparing Blood Wedding And Yerma

In analyzing portrayals of women, it is appropriate to begin with the character of Margarita. For, within the text, she embodies the traditionally masculine traits of bravery, resilience, and violence as a means of liberating herself from an existence of abuse and victimhood. Even more, the woman plays upon stereotypes of femininity in order to mask her true nature. The reader witnesses this clever deception in a scene where the character endures a “wholesome thrashing” from her huge, violent, and grizzly bear-like husband, Guerra (81). Although Margarita “[submits] to the infliction with great apparent humility,” her husband is found “stone-dead” the next morning (81). Here, diction such as “submits” and “humility” relate to the traits of weakness, subservience and inferiority that are so commonly expected of women, especially in their relationships with men. Yet, when one

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.

As Santiago continually states, women are cruel and have no control over their own doings. Women are also deemed by Santiago not to be worthy opponents, notice how he refers to the marlin as a “he” even though he has not seen it yet. Numerous examples in this section include:

The highly masculine society of Dominican culture does overwhelm the female character of the novel. The Dominican culture is a highly male dominant society in which women are often abused

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).

In Act Two when Mother states: “As bull’s go, my son will be a good worker.” (39). She is personifying the need of war. The Spanish government remained willing to fight for what the predecessors of Spain created which is the same as Groom willing to work hard to please Bride’s father and his mother. “...I would have kept that blood-soaked dirt in a chalice of glass and topaz” (39) . Groom, the embodiment of the traditional Republican government, was deeply affected by the death of his father and brother, however this represents the weakening of the Spanish government due to the civil disputes within it. The use of bulls and blood are used to symbolize war. The Fascist leaders of Italy aided in the Spanish Civil War, they urged the Republican Government to wage war to prevent further uprisings by the Rebels, which were the individuals fighting for freedom (“The Spanish Civil War”). Groom and Mother’s relationship is used by Lorca to portray how he views the traditional Spanish government and how it is being influenced by Fascist thought through a concept similar to a parent and their child.

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.

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.

Maria is a traditional Mexican wife, she feels that children should be well mannered and respect all adults. "-And when he returns, I want you children to show your manners. You must not shame your father or your mother (7)," she tells her children while preparing for the arrival of Ultima. "My mother beamed. Deborah's good manners surprised her, but they made her happy, because a family was judged by its manners (11)," Antonio tries to describe the feelings that his mother has when his sister demonstrated good manners toward Ultima. Maria wants her family to respectable, because those families that are not are talked about in the community. She wants to be the best mother possible, and tries to make them realize that without certain things a family will not survive. She stays home and cooks and cleans for her family, because that is what was customary for the traditional Mexican wife to do. "The first day she put on her apron and helped my mother with breakfast, later she swept the house and then helped my mother wash our clothes in the old washing machine (14), Anthony explaining what his mothers daily activities consisted of. Maria tended her garden and did things close to home, she never went out and did things with her friends,

Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married.

In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the way women have been represented and characterized gives us an idea of how the female gender are treated differently from the male gender as well as children in Latin America during the 1950s. The husbands were given all the authority, also known as machismo, whereas women weren’t allowed to take charge of anything, and were portrayed as weak and impotent.

In this research paper I will focus on Sor Juana’s ability to challenge the patriarchal rule in Colonial Mexico through her the patterns language, and the publishing of her work in order to find out how her writing empowered more women writers. In order to answer my question, I will focus on male authority and will work to analyze how patterns, rhetoric, and overall publication of Sor Juana’s work challenge the power dynamic..The question I want answer is how Sor Juana’s work was able to alter cultural attitudes that did not permit women to pursue education and intellectual exploration. My argument is that through her critical language and the act of producing her poems Sor Juana is able to challenge the oppressive society run by males therefore creating a change in the gender norms of her time. This is based off of research of the history of patriarchy in Colonial Mexico, critical analyses of Sor Juana’s writing, understanding of the impact of her writing, and articles suggesting that Sor Juana was influential in altering culture in Mexico. Particularly, I found it interesting that articles explored her language focusing on the gender role she discusses. In this essay I will explore the restrictive cultural norms that pushed Sor Juana to enter the convent as a way to continue writing and publish her work and then proceed to analyze how her writing reflects her

Lope de Vega’s play touches upon several key components and ideas that were brought up in many of the other stories read throughout the semester. This included the role of gender and how men and women are viewed differently in the Spaniard town of Fuenteovejuna. Another topic included the importance of family, love, and relationships and their connection on loyalty, trust, and personal beliefs. The last major influence found in other literature and in Fuenteovejuna, were the political and religious references made throughout the play. Even though Lope de Vega didn’t make these views obvious, the reader could still pick up on their connotation and the references made towards these specific ideas. With all of this in mind, each of these

This can be seen in Lorca’s play The House of Bernarda Alba. As stated, being gay in a country of expected male masculinity, it was difficult for Lorca to conform to society. Even in the home, his father and siblings did not get along well with him, and even after his death attempted to destroyed any evidence that could insinuate his homosexuality. Those who were in his social class despised him for being queer and having so much talent, leaving him with little friends. Because of this, amorous frustration, fertility, and loneliness are common themes among his plays. Lorca utilizes women, mainly, as his protagonists to execute such themes, who find they are in a position where true love or dreams are unclaimable. In The House of Bernarda