Women Hollering Creek by Cisneros Sandra - Book Report/Review Example

Women Hollering Creek Introduction Women hollering creek is a story written by the Mexican Cisneros Sandra and involves the life journey of Cleofilas, a young woman who moves out of his country to venture into a new territory. As a young lady, Cleofilas left Mexico and traveled to Texas with a husband he barely knew much about. During her early years as a girl, Cleofilas spent her time watching soap operas, which shaped her attitude and opinion towards different aspects of life. The scenes and plot of the movies contributed to her infatuation with love and relationship despite her tough poverty-stricken background. However, the desires and aspirations of Cleofilas were affected by the traditional roles that women were subjected to and this contributed to her shame, disbelief and limitations in pursuit of her life aspirations. Women hollering creek presents the issue of gender and sexuality distinctly by describing the Mexican background and tradition to highlight how it shaped the future of the women. Cisneros women hollering creek is a demonstration of the gender and sexual role of women especially in the face of immigration to other parts of the world. Gender, sexuality and immigration in women hollering creek The notion of marriage and love within the Mexican context was influenced by the traditional and patriarchal nature of the society. As a young girl, Cleofilas marries Juan in a marriage that is organized and supported by the father, a point that Cisneros uses to emphasize the influence on the community and society on practices affecting women. By watching the telenovelas movies, the desire for “passion”, and the willingness and drive to find the “the great love of one’s life” influenced her willingness to marry Juan and move out of the country (44). According to Cisneros, a young immigrant woman without proper exposure and education does not stand a chance to succeed in “the other side” of the world. While Juan had proper education and a job at a beer manufacturing company, Cleofilas was forced to become a housewife with a dream of acquiring decent clothes as women she watches in the soap operas. However, the reality was more damning that she anticipated as women immigrants with poor grasp of the English language were forced into alienation and loneliness as compared to the men (94). This demonstrated the societal variation in handling the different genders in Mexico and even ‘on the other side’ of the world. Though Mexican society has a more reserved position for women thus curtailing the modern development of the female gender, Texas is different so long as an immigrant is educated and understand the English the language. Cleofilas is neither of the two and this pushes her into a situation where she feels trapped and cheated. Her lack of grasp of the American culture and the fact that Juan is not as handsome as the men she admires in the soap operas complicates her life. A demonstration of the social trap that women are exposed to., while men enter into a marriage with a bigger plan, women are pushed into marriage either through the pressures of the society or fancies that at the end remains more than just that. However, the mysterious and lovely arroyo at the back of their premise intrigues her due to the wide and deep creek that is called the La Gritona in her local language. From the creek, a sweet voice calls her name and this causes a lot of confusion, as the voice is similar to a Mexican myth she heard while a young girl (51). Cisneros deliberately fails to bring into focus the trap that Juan is caught into due to the feminist and gender oriented voice of her work. Though educated and employed, Juan does not blend well into the Texan society and this forces him to regularly attend evening drinking spree with colleagues to drain the stress and issues affecting them. However, his desire to express the frustrations he is facing becomes trapped in the drunkenness and this is the only barrier that prevents them from expressing their souls as seen in the women. As Cleofilas thinks, "They want to tell each other what they want to tell themselves. But what is bumping like a helium balloon at the ceiling of the brain never finds its way out" (48). Their frustrations that Cisneros fails to highlight are expressed through the fistfights they engage in at the end of the drinking spree. However, Juan focuses her frustrations and anger from the drinks and other issues on the wife through battery. This is a depiction of the feminist view within the Mexican society, which though absent within the Texan culture, is propagated by Juan as an illustration of his societal beliefs. Cleofilas has always insisted that the day she will be stroke by a man, she will retaliate with equal force, a demonstration of the impacts of soap operas and modernity. However, when Juan first hit her, she acts in paralysis, a demonstration of the female passivity. When her husband flops with another woman, she is forced into receding into another patriarchal setting where her father and brothers rule and set standards for life. Through this situation that Cleofilas is exposed to, the feminist struggles and the gender differences in the society are brought to light. Despite the challenges and the problems they face in marriage, walking out is never an option. Cleofilas feels disgraced and defeated but cannot walk away from the relationship due to the societal norms and belief. However, her feminism blinds her view of patriarchy and makes her view it as source of protection, as it was evident to her during her family life with the parents (63). The entry of two Chicana women into the scene changes the gender and sexuality angle in the story as they exposes Cleofilas to the powerful Mexican woman mien. To them, the societal bond and gender disparity does not force into a life they cannot live as they move willingly from town to town and culture to culture. By speaking “Spanglish”, a language that is a fusion of the Spanish and the English dialects, the two women influences Cleofilas to see beyond the patriarchal society at home (54). Despite her attempts to move out of her town with the help of the two ladies, Cleofilas returns home and Cisneros novel ends with a hearty love from the character as she tells the story to her brothers and father. According to Cisneros, “The mass media, specifically through fotonovelas (photo-novels), telenovela’s and revistas magazines (womans magazines), shape womens consciousness and delimit their knowledge of the world” (44). By this statement, Sandra alluded to the fact that the movies and the media were used within this social setup to stir the fancies and fantasies of the women. Most of these soap operas provided an illusion of a great life that bordered on the gender disparity without stressing the need for educational development of the women to improve their skills and strength in the society. By failing to provide the reality and position of education, these soap operas has influenced the road of Cleofilas which has been characterised with failure. She does not have adequate education and skills but believe in the fantasies of the soap operas and thus packs to go to “the other side” with a man that he does not even know. The actual modern women scenario is brought to light through her interaction with Felice, an educated, employed and independent lady whose success is not influenced by the patriarchal nature of the society. “… Now the episodes got sadder and sadder. And there were no commercials in between for comic relief. And no happy ending in sight.” (p. 226). The sadness and challenges that Cleofilas is exposed to makes her realise that the great life she sees in the movies cannot be achieved without empowerment. Conclusion Despite her struggles, Cleofilas is defeated by her struggle against the gender parity within the society and this is demonstrated by her desire to join her family. Despite her exposures and experiences “on the other side”, she is back to her starting point but is now a mother of two children she has to take care of. Though the voice of La Llorona sounds like a cry, it actually depicts a hearty laugh as Cleofilas does at the end of the story. Cisneros has thus used the story to depict the struggles that women undergo in their countries and more so as uneducated immigrants. The life journey of Cleofilas is a demonstration of the struggles of women in a patriarchal society that defines success based on sexuality. In this story, Cleofilas attempts to change the course of her life despite lack of proper education and training. However, her failure to make any progress despite the help of the two modern women highlights the nature of the society and the place of women. The women hollering creek depicts the cries of women of women in a society that is focused to strengthen the patriarchal nature of the society. Work cited Cisneros, Sandra. Women Hollering Creek: And Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1991. Print. Read More