This weeks readings although interesting were incredibly heavy to read. The letters between Maria Eugenia Echenique and Judith Josefina Pelliza de Sagasta were paticularly compelling, inciteful and demonstrated the deplorable way in which women were seen in the 19th century context. The way that both these texts discuss the common beliefs of the time about women from present day perspective are devasting. Interestingly the two authors had quite opposing views of women. Lines from Judith like “…Entirely free women…would lose their greatest charms…when women are mothers [they are placed] on the sacred throne of the home, where women best belong.” (Dawson, 99) in juxtaposition with Marias line ” Our hearts rebels against the ideas of spirtuality, sensibilty and poetry…women’s delay on the road of progress…remains from those ancient times when women were slaves under the power absolute masters, subject to the whims and rul of the “heads” of families or of tyrannical husbands…” (Dawson,98) demonstrates that althought the capacity for progressive attitudes towards womens’ roles in society weren’t within everyone, it did exsist. That said reading the intense internalized sexism in the responding letter was crushing to read. In many ways it would be easier to digest that letter if a man said it because of course from a mans persepctive a letter like that would only prove to serve his interests and power in that time. However a women writing that letter shows how deeply ingrained this doctrine around womens’ behaviour was and is unfortunately still lingering to this day.