Tag Archives: Week 8

10/28/21

Many Women Stay. 

Sandra Cisneros takes her time setting the context in Woman Hollering Creek. She describes their tough relationship. They struggle to find passion in it. Most of the workload is done begrudgingly towards each other. Neither of them left out of a sense of obligation to one another. They stick through it because they rushed into a relationship. It happens slow and then suddenly. Sandra recognizes this and paces the story in the same way. Each day gets a little worse, and they fight a little harder. It creeps up on them and leaves them surprised the first time it happened. “The first time it happened she had been so surprised she didn’t cry out or try to defend herself” like she had  always thought she would. She had learned to expect it and had a plan for if it did. Emotionally its really tough to prepare for something like that. It can numb a person. Abuse is not something to be tolerated. Sandra Cisneros tells a  common story. Yet in many cases leaving can be so hard. Many women stay. Woman Hollering Creek is empowering and inspiring with a postitive ending. It can be easy to convince oneself they didn’t mean it, won’t do it again, or worse, that  they’ve deserved it. Then that its not that bad. It was integral to Cleófilia’s and her children’s wellbeing that the health worker had reported the abuse. Do not stand for abuse. It can be hard to leave emotionally and physically. Fear is a powerful feeling and we need to do what we can to help. Stay weary for signs of gendered violence. It can and does happen. 

10/28/21

The Bridge of Change

In “Woman Hollering Creek,” by Sandra Cisneros, the bridge not only functions as a structure to carry a path over water, but also serves as a symbol that crosses between pain (Dolores), solitude (Soledad) and comfort (Chela). This is depicted in the text when Cleofilas is beat and then left alone by her husband often in Seguin while back in her home town she was comfortable — even if there wasn’t “very much to do,” (220). Water, on the other hand, is another symbol commonly used for change in literature. Thus, begs the question, where does the idiom water under the bridge come into play? The crossing of the river further illustrates the Chicano experience of crossing the Rio Grande, a river commonly known for its disputed border between Mexico and Texas during the 19th century. This traversal not only occurs literally, but in the understanding of individuality and culture as well.  Notably, Seguin corresponds to an American town during the 19th century, while the protagonist’s home town represents more of a Mexican hometown. Furthermore, the bridge over water exemplifies a third meaning. By crossing over the bridge for perhaps the last time, Cleofilas is letting bygones be bygones, or in other words, letting it be just water under the bridge. Through this use of symbolism and imagery, Cisneros masterfully manages to capture the emotions and struggles of the Chicanos as well as the tones, identity, and culture of both Mexican and American women during and after that time period.

10/28/21

The Hair god: “Broken Strand” Analysis

The narrative of a young, black, abused girl is framed in “broken Strand” to describe the grievous distress regularly and generationally occurring in the black, Puerto Rican community of Trastalleres. Yetsaida, the young black girl, is seen by the audience severely obsessing over the style of her hair –  a shallow topic if the proper context is not applied. She is a girl that has lived a faithful routine of verbal and physical abuse in her home life. As the abuse is the result of her father, she is unable to come into a position of influence in her situation.  Throughout the story, the audience witnesses her majorly talking in regards to her hair and her desires with what she wants to do with it, while she slightly skims through the topic of her abuse. Indicating that she uses her hair as means to cope with her troubles. She tries to use something, her hair, that is in her possession, something whose form can be molded at her whim – in order to gain a sense of control in her life since she is unable to change anything in her home. As a black girl, her hair is viewed as ugly and is a threat to her because of her internalized racism. Since her hair is a stable and constant item in her life, as well as a threat, she seems to be motivated to conquer it in order to gain a sense of power while being distracted. Interestingly, Yetsaida barely mentions her mother in her thoughts while becoming fixated with Miss Kety. Indicating that she does not see her mother as capable or willing to protect her, care for her, and keep her safe. She becomes drastically attached to a woman in her neighborhood – the hairstylist, Miss Kety. As her parents were unable to care for her, she unconsciously assigned the role over to Miss Kety. To Yetsaida, Miss Kety has the perfect hair – straight, red, and soft – all that she aspires to be. Yetsiada idolizes her, wants to be just like her, compares herself to her, and follows her path in life. To Yetsaida, perhaps, Miss Kety is viewed as the ‘saviour’ – the path for conquering her hair – her threat – if she can conquer her hair, she might be able to conquer her life.

10/28/21

A Brief Escape

Throughout Broken Strands there is the idea of escaping and of maps. When Yetsaida is young, she wants crayons so she can colour in a map of the world and get good enough grades to leave and go to Managua along with Miss kety but her father does not buy her crayons and instead abuses her and her mother.By visiting miss Kety’s hair salon she is escaping her home and her abuse for a short while, she gets to be treated kindly and with respect. She does not get the opportunity to get good grades and make her escape when she is young but she still dreams of going to cosmetology school and continuing her education in Miami. But as Yetsaida grows up, she falls into the same cycle that the women around her have been trapped in. Yetsaida is seen from Miss Kety’s perspective in the final sentence of the story, while she is dreaming of moving away to Miami, she has a broken nose and a black eye just like all of Miss Kety’s other customers, who probably also had dreams to escape. Miss kety’s salon is their only real escape in an environment that has been built to keep women trapped in abusive relationships that have been normalized by the broader community. By going to the salon the women get sympathy and understanding from someone who has experienced the same thing and they get a brief moment of peace at Miss Kety’s Beauty Parlour.

10/28/21

Pain & Suffering

Spanglish plays a key role in providing meaning to the names in this story. Specifically, the names Soledad and Dolores, Cleofilas’ neighbours, which reflect the impact that men have on the lives of women in this town. The suffering of these two neighbours centres around the loss of the men in their life. Soledad, meaning solitude, suffers from a life of solitude after her husband dies. Dolores, meaning pain, suffers from a life of pain and grief after her two sons and her husband die. This is a direct example of onomastics and how these names provide context. The pain and solitude that these two neighbours suffer from is indicative of patriarchal society; men are the source of all pain and suffering in this society, whether they are present or not. Understanding the meaning of these neighbours’ names, makes the line, “there is no place to go. Unless one counts the neighbour ladies. Soledad on one side. Dolores on the other” (page 224) significant since it reflects that no matter where Cleofila goes, she is trapped by pain and suffering. While she is unhappy and unsafe in her marriage with Juan Padre, her neighbours’ state of despair reflects that even without her husband she also faces a miserable life. There is no escape in this patriarchal society, Cleofila is doomed to suffer. Additionally, on page 227, the line, “this lady doesn’t even speak English. She hasn’t been allowed to call home or write or nothing”, reflects Cleofilas’ struggles in this English-speaking society. Her poor English, therefore, acts as another method of control placed on her; she can not navigate in this English speaking country alone, she is dependent on her abusive husband. She is unable to even ask for help, it is her bruises in the end that signal her need for escape from her husband and this controlled and patriarchal town. 

Therefore, Spanglish offers important meanings to understand the critiques of patriarchy that Sandra Cisneros is attempting to make; she suggests through the names of the neighbours and their situations, that solitude and pain is an inescapable reality in patriarchy. The Spanglish additionally reminds us that Cleofilas is not an English speaker, which is important as an understanding of her dependency on her husband. 

10/24/21

A Glance into What Cleofilas can be

Initially, Cleofilas perceives herself in relation to men. Her identity is forged through labels patriarchal structures assigned upon her: a daughter, a wife, a sister, a mother. Yet, we know she loves sewing and loves telenovelas and is captivated by the arroyo behind her house. But these aspects of her individuality are only narrated, never validated by other characters. Additionally, she does not hold control over her desires and ambitions. Her father, Don Serafin, permits her husband, Juan Pedro, to take her away and move to el otro lado without seeming input of what she wants (p. 219). And later, we know she is not happy with the forced move and her marriage. She constantly yearns to return to her family and move away from Juan Pedro, who is abusive and unappreciative of Cleofilas (p. 222-223). Yet, she initially submitted to his ‘love’ because she felt it was her duty to go from being a daughter to a wife and soon a mother. She was not given options, her role as a ‘good’ woman was preassigned, and a good woman does as the men in her life desire.

Yet, when Cleofilas’ husband physically abuses her, further robbing her of her emotional and physical integrity, she is ultimately pushed to separate herself from him. Primarily as means of survival, but also with great bravery and confidence, which I think come from her desire for autonomy. During the escapade, she meets Felice, the antithesis of a ‘good’ woman within the era. Felice curses, screams, owns a car, and ultimately exudes freedom, something Cleofilas appears to long for. I believe this is when Cleofilas sees her potential to live a fulfilling life in which she does not have to suffer and lose her individuality to appease the men in her life. Felice mirrors what Cleofilas can be. Although the story ends right after their meeting, one can assume that now that Cleofilas has escaped domestic abuse, she sees herself ready to be assertive in her decisions, even if there is gossip or disappointment projected upon her. She values her freedom and safety above others’ patriarchal expectations. And she understood that staying dormant to abuse would lead to a similar path to Soledad and Dolores, whose names mean loneliness and pain, as both characters are in sorrow because of the men in their lives. Yet, instead, Cleofilas chose Felice’s path, whose name sounds like feliz, meaning happy in Spanish. Thus, although the effects and projections of the patriarchy will be there as they are structural, Cleofilas, by actively challenging these predisposed notions, has higher chances of finding happiness and a more fulfilling path, rather than allowing cycles of violence to continue.