Katherine Anne Porter's Maria Concepcion Related to Christian Values - Research Paper Example

Maria Concepcion Related to Christian Values Plot Structure Maria Conception as a story may make the reader to question her/his own sense of morality. The story goes that Maria gets married to Juan Villegas; it is a Christian marriage and therefore happens at a church, in their native Mexico. This is a very rare occurrence, especially for the small Mexican village in which they live. Normally, this idea of a sacred ceremony should act to make their matrimony holier than any other marriage but it is not the case. Nonetheless, Maria is said to have a kind of good reputation and relationship with her neighbors and the community at large. She is a religious woman full of energy and is said to be capable of driving a bargain to its end. Her marriage does not go well in its early stages; Juan cheats on her. Maria Rosa is the culprit woman in this case. They are not lucky to get away with it as Maria Conception is able to catch them at it. Consequently, Juan and his new companion leave to go and serve in the revolution (Porter 24). It would be natural for a woman to weep being left by a husband but Conception is not a normal woman; she did not weep for him. Again, she did not weep when the baby she had with him was born and went on to pass away less than a week later. The story goes that she did not even speak of the ordeal that befell her if she could help it in any way. As a matter of fact, she worked very hard at what she did. One of the themes in Maria Conception is the primitive laws of justice that the villagers use to protect Maria. When Maria goes ahead to attack Juan’s woman and even steal her baby, the villagers still protect her by gathering around her even when she committed murder. The other theme which could be easily researched on is the theme of strength in women. Maria has been able to thrive and triumph in a culture that is not kind to women and very much unfair to them, as well; she is even able to stand up to the weak men who have betrayed in the past (Porter 28). Eventually, she is able to emerge victorious by beating the things and the people who have been dragging her down all her life; these are the people who wished to strike her down. As a result of this, we can take a feminist theme from this line of thought (26). Symbolism The location of this story is very much symbolic; Mexico represents a revolution in the story and the novel entirely. The symbolism of Mexico also extends to the other novels written by the author. Just as much as the people involved in the Mexican revolution do so against much oppression, so does the women in the story. The women like Maria, are trying very much to emancipate themselves from the oppression they get from the men in the society; it is not an easy storm to whether but they go ahead with it and are somehow successful in the end of it all (Unrue 21). Religion is also used in the story for the purposes of symbolism. Religion is a very important piece of the puzzle that is Maria’s life and culture. However, just as important as it is, it is the reason that she even finds herself fighting to free herself from the restrictions and the confinement of not being able to make her decisions without being prevented or stopped by anybody. Characterization In reading this story, one stops to wonder the type of people in the story. Maria Conception is story that can cause a person to hate each and every character from the story. A look at the characters makes a person think of such things as, natural selection, human violence themes, primitive instincts, and so forth. Each and every character from the story is in a way emulating a kind of nature only associated with animals and animalistic culture. These are the bestial parts of the nature of human beings. For instance, Juan has devolved back to a state that can only be associated with animals when lets loose his sexual longings, and does not control himself. Additionally, the other example of weird behavior and character from the story is that of Maria Rosa. Maria Rosa ruined a very functioning marriage. When Maria Conception got wind of her existence, she went ahead and slit her throat. Maria Rosa’s baby is then stolen by Maria Conception. Lupe and Given have refused acknowledgement of the concept of justice and doing the right thing in the society. Justice is often associated with the civilized and the democratic people in our lovely world. Givens bails out Juan from prison while Lupe goes on to announce to everyone the person who murdered Maria Rosa. This story is full of irrationality. Almost every person in the story is motivated by irrationality (Porter 42). For instance, Maria Conception, a person who ironically, goes to church on a daily basis, is the same kind of person who murders a fellow woman; a human being just likes her. The church is against murder or killing of human beings or even revenge in itself. This can only be explained as savagery. On learning about the affair her husband had with Maria Rosa, she took it upon herself to cut throat of the man she called her husband and the girl he was cheating on her with; and then go somewhere and sit and wait for death to go for her. According Maria Conception, Maria Rosa is nothing but a whore with no right to life. Maria Rosa is simply an adulteress, and she has no right to continue living according to the gospel of Maria Conception. Such actions from a church going human being only serve to make us wonder what kind of human beings there are in the story to begin with. Whatever the motive these women have in defending the wrongs done to them, it is very wrong to pursue revenge to that magnitudes. Maria’s religion, which is Christianity, is against revenge of any forms. Therefore, even if Maria Conception had the right to revenge the wrongs done to her by Maria Rosa and Juan, in the eyes of the church, or anyone for that matter, this is very irrational. This is simply that primitive desire for survival that all animals have. Conception is a woman who shows no emotion whatsoever; she is capable of numbing herself from everything in the environment she lives in; and slit the throat of a man without even showing a flinch of any kind. At the end of it all; the story follows Conception killing all that her ex-husband owned and cared about; simply because of the fact that he betrayed her by sleeping with another woman. On the decision of killing Maria Rosa; she is trying to increase the chances and probability or likelihood of the prosperity of the Conception Family. In nature, the quick resolve towards violence is a very primeval emotion in the animal kingdom relative of human beings; the chimpanzees. These animals, as studies have shown, really enjoy violent actions. Maria Conception, from the story, has succeeded in showing us that inner beast of barbarism that animals have when threatened as well as, the reproductive desire for survival as well as isolation. Works Cited Porter, Katherine Anne. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. New York: Harvest, 1972. Print. Unrue, Darlene Harbour. Critical Essays on Katherine Anne Porter. New York: G.K. Hall, 1997. Print. Walsh, Thomas. Katherine Anne Porter and Mexico: The Illusion of Eden. Austin: University of Texas, 1992. Print. Read More