Mama Blanca’s Memoirs by Teresa de la Parra was truly a joy to read. Her description of social interactions and relationships, in particular, made profound of the otherwise mundane. It’s difficult not to quote the entire text for this purpose, but one passage in particular that I think illustrates this talent is about Mama Blanca’s sisters, “My five sisters and I formed a rising staircase stretching from seven months to seven years, and from our enthroned stairway we ruled over all of creation without ostentation.” This quote also highlights a major theme of the text, which is the fantasy of childhood. In both the foreword and the following text, de la Parra takes care to describe the sweet, innocent, tender adventures of youth – a time for both narrators of incredible abundance and magic and absent of any serious preoccupations or anxieties. It was lovely to read about Mama Blanca’s childhood adventures through her own eyes and then return to the foreword and understand that this joyful, mischievous spirit never quite left her.

Another theme I found myself returning to was that of classism and the severe power dynamics of wealth and status. This theme was especially played out through the story of Vicente Cochocho, a “hired hand” of Piedra Azul plantation. Vicente, literally called “louse,” is often described as ugly. It becomes clear throughout the passage that attractiveness and elegance are more than just exterior aesthetics in de la Parra’s world, they are tools for social upward mobility. In this sense, characters described as ugly, including Eleuteria and Aquilina, Vicente’s partners, lack power, not simply because they are poor, but importantly because they lack beauty. In a way, to the others, his ugliness justifies his position on the plantation and his subsequent treatment. Beauty is a major preoccupation of the characters in Mama Blanca’s Memoirs, especially Blanca Nieves’ mother. De la Parra writes, “Far more than in her own person, Mama’s vanity had its abode in our six heads.” Blanca Nieves’ performance of beauty is a significant theme of her early childhood. Over time, she comes to understand that her value lies in her beauty, specifically in her hair, saying, “My honor … had its seat in my hair and in no other part of my person.” In this case, despite the labor it requires, beauty grants Blanca Nieves status and power, in whatever modest sense.

Finally, a theme I found woven throughout every passage of the text was that of law and order, punishment, and justice. This is illustrated through the relationships and power dynamics between parents/caregivers and children, masters and subordinates, and older and younger siblings, to name a few. Blanca Nieves seems to have a keen sense of justice and we can see this especially in her descriptions of the “hired help” working at Piedra Azul: her contempt for caregivers like Evelyn, who are authoritative and harsh, and her admiration for Vicente, who is kind and selfless. Question for discussion: How do you see Blanca Nieves’ sense of justice playing out in the relationships and dynamics of her own family and community as an old woman?