In the Woman Hollering Creek, Sandra Cisneros makes use of several short stories to expose the Mexican culture destined gender roles inequalities against women. From a very young age most Mexican girls are endangered to take the household responsibilities as their core duty. Once they reach adolescence they imperilled to think about marriage as the unrivalled way for them to leave their parents support. I argue that the Mexican culture through the medium of tradition and media is assembling a society in which woman, from the moment they are born, bear a life of parental and marital submission.
In the Woman Hollering Creek, Cisneros exposes the story of Cleofilas Hernandez. Cisneros unveils parental submission in Cleofilas’ life in the first
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page. Cisneros writes, “The day Don Serafin gave Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez permission to take Cleofilas Enriqueta DeLeon Hernandez as his bride…” (Cisneros 43). This is significant because it emphasizes the power Don Serafin has over Cleofilas life, he is in power of directly decide whom she is going to marry by rejecting or accepting individual. Although, many would argue that rather giving Serafin Cleofilas is just following the tradition of asking the parents. Since her mother is deceased her father is the only option, nonetheless, the diction suggest that rather than Cleofilas asking for permission appears that Cleofilas is being given away. In this instance her hand is not remotely mentioned thus laying the perception of her being given away as property and not as a person. Similarly, the gender roles assigned as a part of Mexican tradition enforces the submission of woman to parental and marital figures. Cisneros writes “...Dream of returning to the chores that never ended, six good-for-nothing brothers, and one old man’s complaints” It is evident that Cleofilas had several household responsibilities in comparison to her brothers, despite being the youngest one. Cleofilas is assigned household responsibilities because of the tradition and notion of many individuals in Mexico of giving such responsibilities to woman as a consequence of male assumption that they are better suited for those responsibilities.This tradition in this case is employed very early on as Cleofilas acquired impressive sowing and cleaning skills by the time she was given away. The implementation of this notion that rapidly becomes tradition in families in many cases subject woman to solely household responsibilities. This is not only existing in the parental life but also is the marital one. Once a woman gets married she is supposed under this tradition, to remain under the submission of a male figure, her husband. She will have to clean, cook everyday, and take care of the baby(ies). Cleofilas and other woman are being abused as objects. Some may argue that even despite the fact that woman are being subjected to obey a male figure, they still have a place to call home and provision because a man provides it. However, man have a choice where woman have to follow blindly, countless girls in the rural parts of Mexico are deprived of their higher education. When they marry a man they do want is mostly taught to them by tradition take care of the household, cook everyday, take care of the babies. If the baby is a female, chances are, she will be deprived of her higher or education thus repeating the cycle. This is significant because it exposes that the submission that many woman have to the male figures around them is not desired but forced on to them by tradition. The media is another medium by which woman are subjected to submission.
This is clear when Cisneros writes “The kind of Telenovelas describes when one finds, finally, the great love of one’s life, and does whatever one can, must do, at whatever cost. Tu o Nadie. “You or No One” The title of the current favorite telenovela,”(Cisneros 44). Telenovelas often portray the same plot Man doing the utmost impossible to get the woman he want. Once the woman agrees they engage in fiery, passionate relationship that somehow praises the suffering of woman, emphasizing that love most hurt in order for it to be true. Cisneros writes “The beautiful Lucia Mendes having to put up with all kind of hardships of the heart, separation and betrayal, and loving, always loving no matter what, because that is the most important thing…”(Cisneros 44). The fundamental message of this telenovela is that one must remain with the first person that attains the heart. If the person has extreme flaws, is abusive, and or toxic one ought to with the other person. Loving, and loving always no matter what, pain is sweet somehow, that is what the media is portraying to all the viewers. For many young girls the classic telenovelas contends them to suffer through all the adversities to maintain a love that is long gone. For many boys it shows how they ought to pursue a loving woman and a job and their lives will be forever solved. For other adults it just reinforces the notion of gender roles, such as education for only the males or relegation to household duties only for females. An example how gender roles affect the children all the way to Adulthood is clear when Cisneros writes “...when it happened the first time, when they were barely man and wife, she had been so stunned, it left her speechless, motionless, numb” ( Cisneros 48). Cisneros points the abuse in their early marriage not as a one time occurrence, but as a cycle of abuse. Cleofilas wanted to take action but the act itself staggered her
far too much defend herself, cry, or scream for help. After the first time she tells herself that is not going to happen again. When this happens again, Cisneros writes “Cleofilas thinks, This is the man I have waited my whole life for” (Cisneros 49). This demonstrates that for a significant amount of woman there are repercussions after enjoying what is supposed to be an innocent romantic television show. The text suggest that Cleofilas and many other woman in similar situations are constantly reminding themselves about the telenovelas and how their favorite actress is always suffering but somehow encounters joy in that act, being their desire to emulate that. This is important because it demonstrates that woman are not only subjected by family influences, specially a paternal figure, but also are subjected to believe in granting the husband with all the power from a very young age. A plethora of Mexican woman that live in reserved areas of Mexico are subjected to submission and most of the times are out of their control. It is a problematic task to censure what the television can air and what can they not. It is also challenging to go against family tradition because of almost certain disapproval. Additionally, in many instances, they have no choice due to lack of education. If a woman manages to undergo the first and second barrier she will face a third one which deals with society. For many women, the only plausible solution for them to move to another place condemns extreme gender roles and provides everyone with a choice. Once they are in this place they ought to educate their children, if they have, and commence a tradition of giving males and females the same amount of value and prestige. Consequently, this will result in a more independent individual that are do not follow all media and all traditions because they are aware that not everything in the media and not every tradition is admirable.
Genaro Padilla, author of the article Yo Sola Aprendi: Mexican Women’s Personal Narratives from Nineteenth-Century California, expands upon a discussion first chronicled by the historian, H. H. Bancroft and his assistants, who collected oral histories from Spanish Mexican women in the 1870’s American West. Bancroft’s collection, however, did not come from this time period, but closer to the 1840s, a time where Mexican heritage still played a strong presence throughout most of California. These accounts, collected from many different women, in many various positions and lifestyles, shows just how muted the Mexican female voice could be during this era.
In the short story, “Women Hollering Creek,” (Cisneros) Cleofilas, grows up without her mother, and must learn how to become a woman from a show she is watching on television. AT first, Cleofilas
In the story “Woman Hollering Creek” Sandra Cisneros covers the many challenges of being a married woman through the character Cleofilas. Cleofilas is married to a man that would not only mentally abuse her ,but physically also. Cisneros shows how double standards make it difficult for women; putting men above women. The culture has always been dominated by men.
Women are seen as failure and can’t strive without men in the Mexican-American community. In this novel you can see a cultural approach which examines a particular aspect of a culture and a gender studies approach which examines how literature either perpetuates or challenges gender stereotypes. Over and over, Esperanza battled with how people perceived her and how she wished to be perceived. In the beginning of the book, Esperanza speaks of all the times her family has moved from one place to another. “Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler.
Reyna Grande 's novel, Across a Hundred Mountains, focuses on the dynamic of the development and rethinking of the concept of a traditional Latino patriarchal family built up around male dominance. In low income and uneducated cultures, there are set of roles that throughout time have been passed by from generation to generation. These gender roles most often consist of the men being the breadwinner for the family. While the women stay home to cook, clean, and raise the children. Women are treated as possessions with limited rights and resources. Throughout the novel, Grandes challenges gender roles in the story of a young woman named Juana who, despite all adversity, fights stereotypes and is able to rewrite her own ending.
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Cleofilas, had an illusion that all romances are like the ones she has seen on television. However, she soon realizes that her relationship with Juan Pedro was nothing like what she had dreamed it would be. Cisneros wants to emphasize the idea that when men bring home the primary source of income in the family, they feel they have power over their wives. Cisneros uses Juan Pedro in the story to portray this idea. For instance, Cleofilas often tells herself that if she had any brains in her, she would realize that Juan Pedro wakes up before the rooster to earn his living to pay for the food in her belly and a roof over her head (Cisneros, 1991, p.249). Cisneros wants to make a point that when men feel that they have power over their wives, women begin to feel a sense of low self-worth.
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. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
Cleofilas grew up in a male dominant household of six brother and father, and without a mother, she no woman figure to guide her, give advice on life, or how to love a man. Cleofilas turned to telenovelas for a woman’s guidance on love and appearance, and she began to imagine her ideal life through the television series. Once Cleofilas was married she moved away into a home with her husband, were she pictured everything to be like the couples on the telenovelas, but she soon starts to realize life isn 't exactly like how they view it in the telenovelas. In the story Sandra make the statement ‘From what see can tell, from the times during her first year when still a newlywed she is invited and accompanies her husband, sits mute besides their conversations, waits and sips a beer until it grows warm, twists a paper napkin into a knot, then another into a fan, one into a rose, nods her head, smiles, yawns, politely grins, laughs at the appropriate moments, leans against her husband’s sleeve, tugs at his elbow, and finally becomes good at predicting where the talk will lead, from this Cleofilas
While the above was true, there are also documented cases that demonstrate that women, especially widows and unmarried, played a fundamental role in the socio-economic and political structure of colonial Mexico. Through the discussion of some exceptional women who were able to challenge men’s power, I will demonstrate that the common belief that colonial Mexico was largely dominated by men was not necessarily true. One of the most fundamental institutions of colonial Mexico was the family. According to Mark A. Burkholder and Lyman L. Johnson, “‘family’ in this context meant not only the biological family, but also the larger set of family relations created by marriages and by forging alliances through the selection of godparents.”. The nucleus of the family was the father who exerted a great deal of power over other members of the family.
In a couple between a man and woman, the man is known for being the dominant one in the relationship. In the story "Woman Hollering Creek", by Sandra Cisneros. Cleofilas Enriqueta Deleon Hernandez, is a woman who suffers from her husbands over dominance of the relationship. Cleofila is woman with ambitions to live a meaningful life filled with love and happiness just like in her telenovelas. Instead, she lives in isolation with Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez, her husband who she loves dearly, but is constantly abused by him. The only friends Cleofila has are her lady neighbors, Dolores and Soledad. In their actions and responses, many women unwittingly reflect the viewpoints and focus of their friends and neighbors
Through American Literature many writers have given a voice to the once silent. Sandra Cisneros, a writer was one of those contributors. Very few writers of her time, explored and brought to light what she did. She started a movement in the United States and within her community to bring to light the issue that once were overlooked. The Stories, poems, novels and essays she wrote touch the lives of many people, of all walks of life. Cisneros did not have the best childhood but was able to overcome many obstacles through her life. Born in Chicago, Illinois into poverty to her first book The House on Mango street selling more than six million copies (Cisneros, 2017).
Writing in the 20th century was great deal harder for a Chicano then it was for a typical American at this time. Although that did not stop this author, Sandra Cisneros. One of her famous novels, Woman Hollering Creek was a prime example of how a combined culture: Mexican-Americans, could show their pride and identity in this century. In conjunction, gave the opportunity for women to speak their voice and forever change the culture of Latino/a markets. Not only did it express identity/gender roles of women and relationships, but using these relationships to combine the cultures of Mexican and American into a hybrid breed. This novel, should have been a view-point for the future to show that there is more to life than just gender and race. Concluding this, the articles that helps define this is “The Latino/a Canon and the Emergence of Post-Sixties Literature” and “What is called Heaven”.
Intertwined in allusions to women of Mexican history and folklore, making it clear that women across the centuries have suffered the same alienation and victimization, Cisneros presents a woman who struggles to prevail over romantic notions of domestic bliss by leaving her husband. In the story Woman Hollering Creek, Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleófilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally. Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. In Woman Hollering Creek, we see a young Mexican woman, who suddenly moves across the border and gets married. The protagonist, Cleófilas’ character is based on a family of a six brothers and a dad and without a mom, and the story reveals around her inner feelings and secrets.
Women in Mexico and the United States of America have played an important role structuring their society and elevating their status. Between 1846 and 1930, the stereotype and position of women within these countries differed vastly from one another. While various traditional roles of women remained the same, the manner in which they were viewed differed. In many ways, women in Mexico held a higher position than those in the United States during this time.
In the story "Woman Hollering Creek" Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleofilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally .Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. Cisneros has been famous about writing stories about the latino culture and how women are treated; she explain what they go through as a child, teen and when they are married; always dominated by men because of how the culture has been adapted. "Woman Hollering Creek" is one of the best examples. A character who grows up without a mother and who has no one to guid and give her advise about life.