Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Hana Wallenfelsová

The Mother-Daughter Relationships and their Literary Representations in Bachelors Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Mgr. Martina Horäkovä, Ph.D.

2017

1 2 / declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

Author's signature

3 / would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. for her constructive suggestions and comments which proved to be invaluable during the process of creating this thesis. Furthermore, I would like to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout my study.

4 Table of Contents

1. Introduction 6 2. Chicana Literature: Historical and Political Context 8 3. Chicana Mothers and Daughters 16 4. Literary Analysis 19 4.1. The Mother-Daughter Relationship in ' Caramelo 20 4.2. The Mother-daughter Relationship in Black Dove by Ana Castillo 30 5. Conclusion 38 6. Abstract in English 41 7. Abstract in Czech 42

5 1. Introduction

The mother-daughter relationships are a prominent theme in Chicana literature.

As Chicana feminists emerged along with the movement in 1970s, they started to point out the complicated position of the mother figure in Mexican and Chicano history and culture. In these cultures, the mother figure has been traditionally compared to one of three models - La Virgen, La Llorona and La Malinche. Women see the role model either as a completely devoted, selfless, idealized mother La Virgen (the Mexican version of the Virgin Mary); or the unacceptable mother model like La Llorona, or La

Malinche - both seen by the Mexicans and as traitors. However, Chicana feminist authors like Gloria Anzaldua, Sandra Cisneros, or Ana Castillo started to portray the mother as a complex person, not only good or bad.

Mexican mothers usually prefer their sons to their daughters and this results in a dysfunctional relationship between the mothers and daughters. The absence of maternal affection and general emptiness of these relationships are portrayed by Cisneros and

Castillo in their books, and are presented as a key element in the development of the main protagonists. In order to shape the protagonist's own identity, she tries to explore the reasons behind her mother's behavior. She realizes that her mother was brought up in a patriarchal culture and that this has inevitably impacted her behavior. But it is not just the mother, but also other women, like the grandmother or close relatives who consequently act upon the main protagonist. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the topic of mother-daughter relationships in Sandra Cisneros' novel Caramelo (2002) and

Ana Castillo's memoir Black Dove. Mamá, Mi'jo, and Me (2016).

The first part of the thesis describes the historical background of the in the U.S. It explains the historical and geographical context behind the

6 sizeable Mexican/Mexican-American community in the U.S., describes the beginnings of Chicano movement and finally the emergence of in the 1960s, along with the first wave of Chicana writers. The second part of the thesis describes the structure of the traditional Chicano family, the role of familism and the importance of the extended family which often provides emotional, physical and economical support to the children. This part is followed by the analysis of mother-daughter relationships in

Caramelo and Black Dove. Mamá, Mi'jo, and Me followed by a conclusion.

7 2. Chicana Literature: Historical and Political Context

During the first half of the 19th century, encouraged by the Mexican government, a lot of Americans migrated to northern parts of Mexico, the reason for that being the

"American interest in the rich agricultural lands of the Texas plains" (Gonzales 70). The

Mexican government encouraged this migration because they wanted to populate Texas, but the Mexican citizens were not particularly interested in settling this far north of their country (Gonzales 70). The effect of this migration was similar to what happened in other parts of North America: what at first appeared as a few hundreds of 'Anglos' suddenly became a majority. Rendón writes that "in 1834, the twenty-two thousand non-Mexicans (including two thousand slaves) were four times the number of Mexican

Texans" (90). Because the American settlers had culturally more in common with the

U.S. than with Mexico, tension between them and the Mexican government arose. This tension resulted in the battle of the Alamo in 1836 between American settlers in Texas and Mexico. Even though Texans declared independence, it slowly became clear that

"Mexico would fight rather than be robbed of its land" (Rendón 91). This sentiment led to a conflict, which is now known as Mexican-American war, declared on May 13,

1846. The war was officially ended by The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2,

1848. Mexico ended up losing almost half of its territory, securing for the U.S. the ownership of California, big parts of New Mexico, Arizona and many other northern parts of Mexico. Almost 100,000 Mexican citizens who had lived in these areas were suddenly faced with the decision either to leave all their property behind and move to

Mexico or to stay and become American citizens. Even though the treaty promised the

Mexicans to keep their lands if they stayed in the U.S. and acquired U.S. citizenship, it was not honored, and in many cases these Mexicans lost their property in the end.

8 Rendon writes that "the federal government took over without remuneration in New

Mexico alone 2 million acres of privately owned land, 1.7 million acres of communal land, and 1.8 million acres of other land between 1854 and 1930" (101). Thanks to that many of the Mexicans who stayed in the U.S. became strangers in their own country.

In addition to the already numerous population of in the

U.S., there were even more Mexicans coming to the country in search of better jobs during the Mexican Revolution which lasted between 1910 and 1920. The U.S. was experiencing rapid economic growth at the time, accepting labor from all parts of the world, including Mexico. In his article on Mexican migration, David Gutierrez writes that "Estimates vary widely, but most demographic historians agree that at least 600,000 and perhaps as many as 1,000,000 Mexicans migrated to the United States between

1900 and 1929" (491). Majority of these Mexican immigrants settled in the southern parts of the U.S. One factor was the proximity to the Mexican border and thus the relatives who stayed in Mexico, and then there was the familiarity with the territory which was once part of Mexico after all, and there were already many Mexican

Americans there. But the main reason for choosing this part of the U.S. was that the jobs were plentiful. Mexicans found jobs mainly as unskilled labor in mining, railroad maintenance and agriculture (Gonzales 119-120).

Whether they gained U.S. citizenship through the annexation of the northern parts of Mexico or immigrated later, these Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were generally ill-treated, poor and remained segregated from the Americans, usually living in labor camps along with other migrant workers (Gonzales 127). After the Treaty of

Guadalupe Hidalgo, the American culture quickly became dominant in the annexed parts. In The Chicano Experience, Mirande comments: "Although Chicanos may have

9 formal and legal equality, they are informally excluded from full participation in the educational, economic, and political system" (15). The educational system and mass media in the U.S., together with the lack of political representation of Mexican

Americans, did not help to remove the anti-Mexican sentiment implied by the historical relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. During the Mexican-American war, there was a widespread belief that Mexicans were "dirty, lazy and violent" (Gonzales 147).

Thanks to the rise of mass media at the beginning of the 20th century, this notion of a

"lazy" Mexican became widespread in the U.S. (Gonzales 147). This negative perception of Mexicans, combined with the Great Depression in the 1930s, resulted in a massive repatriation of Mexicans back to Mexico. It is estimated that up to 400,000

Mexicans were repatriated, approximately half of them involuntarily. Among these repatriated Mexicans there were many American-born who had U.S. citizenship

(Gonzales 149).

All this resulted in the feeling of exclusion in the Mexican American community. On either side of the border, they were assumed to be foreigners. In the

U.S. they were treated as second-class citizens, punished in schools for speaking

Spanish, even though Spanish was usually the only language their parents could speak.

Castillo describes in her collection of essays how Mexican Americans were perceived in

Mexico: "in the past American-born Mexicans were viewed as either among the traitors

(as a result of fleeing from La Revolución of 1910) or the trash of Mexico (migrating or escaping for other reasons)" (Castillo, Massacre 36). Not part of the American community and not part of the Mexican community, the feeling of not being accepted is described in "Legally Alien", a poem by Mexican American poet and writer Pat Mora:

10 viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,

perhaps inferior, definitely different,

viewed by Mexicans as alien,

(their eyes say, "You may speak

Spanish but you're not like me")

an American to Mexicans

a Mexican to Americans. (Mora 5-10)

Thus, Americans saw Mexican Americans as "exotic," "inferior," and "definitely different," while Mexicans believed them to be outsiders existing on the edge between two worlds. As a result, during the 1960s a new movement was established, aiming to improve the lives and recognize the rights of Mexican Americans. This movement is known as the Chicano movement or Chicano/Brown Power (Gonzales 194).

It is not known where the term Chicano/Chicana (used for male/female respectively) originated. Philip D. Ortego from the University of Texas proposed one theory which assumes its origin in the word Mexicano (meaning Mexican in Spanish) which was pronounced as 'Me-chi-ca-noh' by Aztecs; from this the word Chicano was probably derived by dropping the first two letters. Chicano, therefore, means Mexican or a person from Mexico (Simmen and Bauerle 225). Another theory states that the word was put together by adding the suffix "ano" to "chico", a word used for 'a boy' in

Spanish (Simmen and Bauerle 226). Simmen explains that for the majority of

Americans the connotation of this word was pejorative, meaning "a dissatisfied

American of Mexican descent whose ideas regarding his position in the social or economic order are, in general, considered to be liberal or radical and whose statements and actions are often extreme and sometimes violent" (Simmen and Bauerle 227). In the

11 1960s, the Mexican-American civil rights movement acknowledged the word Chicano and it slowly became a representation of ethnic pride. Currently, Oxford dictionary defines Chicano as a person who was born in the United States of Mexican descent, or a person born in Mexico who immigrated to the United States ("Chicano").

Inspired by the African American civil movement, the Chicano efforts gradually grew into a full-fledged civil rights movement, seeking to define and accept the distinctive identity of Chicanos, and to provide better job opportunities and education to the minority. Gonzales writes that at the beginning of the 1960s the majority of Mexican

Americans were employed as unskilled or semiskilled workers, the unemployment rates were twice as high for Mexican Americans than for Americans, and the education levels were also very low (197). Chicanas also took part in the Chicano movement, but they were expected to play only subordinate roles. They were supposed to do the cleaning, follow orders and service the needs of the leaders. The sexism in the Chicano movement was addressed by Chicana authors mainly through poetry and articles (R. Gutierrez 49).

They did not write solely about human rights and their exclusion from the U.S. society, but they also wrote about their exclusion within the Chicano community as such. They wrote about restrictions imposed on them by men, about their day-to-day lives. This group of Chicana feminist writers started to emerge in the 1970s (R. Gutierrez 47-50)

Chicana authors started to revise the history of Chicanos. While Chicano scholars chose 1848 as the beginning of Chicano history, Chicana authors went much further and dated the history of Chicanas to 1519. This approach was proposed by

Judith Sweeney in her essay "Chicana History: A Review of the Literature" from 1977.

(qtd. in R. Gutierrez 51-52). In 1519, Dona Marina, also known as La Malinche, was gifted as a slave to Hernan Cortes. However, she later became his mistress and personal

12 translator. Through her knowledge of the continent she helped Cortes conquer Mexico.

In her article about the ballet show La Malinche by Jose Limon, Patty H. Delaney explains how the perception of La Malinche changed throughout the history:

During the Colonial Era, the predominant view of La Malinche was that of a

desirable, intelligent woman, the basic Spanish interpretation. In the

postindependence Mexico, the view shifted considerably. Mexicans felt that the

constant political turmoil in the country arose from foreign influences and La

Malinche became the perfect scapegoat. (Delaney 281)

La Malinche was blamed by Mexican nationalists for her role in the destruction of

Mexican society. Kristina Downs, in her analysis of Pocahontas and La Malinche, writes that during the Mexican revolution La Malinche was generally perceived as "a symbol of the female traitor, the woman who rejects her own culture in favor of the foreign aggressor and of the sexually loose woman" (Downs 403). However, in the

1960s, Octavio Paz, Mexican poet and diplomat, proposed in Labyrinth of Solitude a different approach. He pictures La Malinche as "the violated Mother/Chingada" (86).

He argues that she was not actively betraying her nation, she was just a passive figure manipulated by Cortes (85). Yet, the Chicana feminists reclaimed her as an active symbol of Chicana feminism. They argued that she acted out of her own will. Helping

Cortes, Delaney writes, was in the interest of La Malinche and her people, whose lands were plundered by the Aztecs (280). This sentiment can be seen in Carmen Tafolla's poem "La Malinche" in which Tafolla portrays La Malinche as a visionary who believes that by helping Cortes she will create new possibilities for her own people:

But Chingada I was not.

Not tricked, not screwed, not traitor.

13 For I was not traitor to myself—

I saw a dream

and I reached it.

Another world

. (qtd. Herrera 55)

Thus, La Malinche, as seen by the Chicana feminists, is the mother of all Mexican people. Her son, fathered by Cortes, was one of the first , i.e., of mixed

European-Indigenous ancestry. However, this image was not accepted by Paz and other

Mexican writers. Paz saw La Malinche as a mother of malinchistas, of people who wanted Mexico to become open to foreign influences (86). She was contrasted with La

Virgen de Guadalupe, who is an apparition of the Virgin Mother and one of the patrons of Chicanos and Mexican people, representing idealized motherhood and unselfishness

(Herrera 48).

Yet another motherly figure of significance in the Mexican and Chicano culture was La Llorona (the crying woman). Like La Malinche, she too was historically perceived as a bad mother figure - she drowned her children as a revenge to her lover who left her for a different woman. Herrera writes that:

the three mythic mother archetypes have been used in Mexican culture to define

'appropriate' (La Virgen) and 'inappropriate' (La Malinche and La Llorona)

models of motherhood and womanhood. The existence of these powerful

female archetypes strains the mother-daughter relationship, given that the

archetypes reinforce the limited categories of women and mothers as either

good or bad. (61)

14 The Chicana feminists and writers have been trying to change this black and white interpretation of the three mythic mother archetypes in their attempt to redefine their identity. The search for identity is one of the most prominent themes in Chicana literature. Chicanas do not feel to be either American or Mexican; they describe the feeling of being both and none at the same time. Their literature describes what it feels like to be living between two cultures. Living two different lifestyles, with two different identities brings many emotional conflicts - it's like living on "a thin edge of barbwire" (Anzaldua, Borderlands 25). Yet both cultures are imperative for the

Chicanas' identity.

The language in which Chicana writers choose to express themselves depends on their upbringing. The majority of the books are written in English but sometimes the language used in Chicana books serves as a representation of the mixed Chicana identity - some authors use both Spanish and English, or even mix the two together.

The mixing of English and Spanish is considered folklore, be it code-switching

(switching between two languages inside one sentence or one discourse) or neologisms derived from English, the so-called Spanglish. They are living between two cultures but also between two different languages. Some Chicana authors write exclusively in

Spanish, but they are considered a minority.

15 3. Chicana Mothers and Daughters

In their article about Chicano family structure, Segura and Pierce write that the traditional Chicano family has a different structure than a nuclear family (63). They argue that some sociologists see the main characteristic of Chicano families in the so called "familism". Familism is distinguished by four basic features: large families, multigenerational households, high value of family unity and frequent interaction between the extended family (73). The extended family plays a big role in the upbringing of children. In Chicano families it is not only the mother and/or the father, but even the aunts, uncles, grandparents and godparents who participate in the upbringing of the child. Chodorow writes the following about familism:

... the people surrounding a mother while a child is growing up become

mediators between mother and daughter with alternative models for personal

identification and objects of attachment which contribute to her differentiation

from her mother (qtd. in Segura and Pierce 69).

The people around the mother provide a variety of different role models for the

daughter, who then finds it easier to form her own identity. She is not restricted by

having only the mother as a role model, so she can explore other possibilities and form

her identity more independently. An extended family often provides emotional,

physical and economical support to the children. In many Chicano families there are

several mother figures who provide teaching of gender-related cultural behavior,

sometimes Chicanas form a closer relationship with their grandmothers than with their

mothers. Unlike the mothers, grandmothers stand "a step away from the

mother/daughter identity process" thus it is easier for the daughters to bond with them.

In the process of shaping their identity, Chicana daughters are usually biased against

16 their mothers, thus the relationship between grandmother-grandchildren is less tense

(Segura and Pierce 74-76).

In the article "The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse," Garcia writes

that Chicana feminists often reject the notion of "ideal Chicana", a mother who is

strong, selfless and takes care of her family above all else (Garcia 222). Gomez

comments on that:

Some Chicanas are praised as they emulate the sanctified example set by [the

Virgin] Mary. The woman par excellence is mother and wife. She is to love and

support her husband and to nurture and teach her children. Thus, may she gain

fulfillment as a woman. For a Chicana bent upon fulfillment of her personhood,

this restricted perspective of her role as a woman is not only inadequate but

crippling, (qtd. in Garcia 222)

The ideal model of a mother who is like the Virgin Mary/the Virgin of Guadalupe is very demanding and for many women almost impossible to achieve. However, in the extended families where there is more than one mothering figure, it is easier to achieve this model because there are different role models who can together form the ideal motherly model. In the article "Community, Patriarchy and Individualism," Ramon

Gutierrez writes that the relationship between daughters and their mothers passes through various stages. As the daughter grows older, she becomes more critical of her mother and often seeks "generational refuge" in her grandmother or another maternal figure in the extended family. Gutierrez writes the following:

Early explorations of the relationships between mothers and daughters were

hostile, but gradually some women came to realize that they could not blame

their mothers for what their mothers themselves had not been able to control.

Guadalupe Valdes-Fallis reconciled herself with her mother when she

17 acknowledged that her mother had not had any other options open to her. (R.

Gutierrez 60)

Even though the first reaction of the daughter is to turn away from her mother, she often realizes that her mother cannot be blamed for the culture she grew up in or the options she had. By completely rejecting the mother, the daughter rejects part of herself. This is the first step towards the emancipation of the daughter. Wodak and

Schulz quote Jung in their article: "Every mother contains her daughter within herself, and every daughter her mother...." (qtd. in Wodak and Schulz 4). Thus, it is not possible to completely reject the mother. By accepting the mother, the daughters accepts part of herself.

18 4. Literary Analysis

The aim of this part is to analyze the mother-daughter relationships represented in Cisneros' novel Caramelo and in Castillo's memoir Black Dove. Mamá, Mi'jo, and

Me. Both the books chosen to be discussed are written from the perspective of a daughter who narrates her story and the story of her family. Suzanne Juhaz writes that a lot of books written by Chicana authors use the daughter's voice as a narrator, she explains:

Any of the daughter texts that crowd our bookshelves are written by women who

are actually mothers. One might say that their experience as daughters remains

so important to them, when they are thirty or forty or sixty, because it's

unfinished business: unfinished because they have not yet got their quota of

recognition; that the daughter book is the one they have to write to come into

identity at last. (qtd. in Herrera 5)

It seems as if the authors themselves felt somehow incomplete, and only matured through the process of writing these books. Even though the books focus on the conflicting relationships between mothers and daughters, they are also trying to give voice to the mothers and explore their plight. The fact that one of the books is a fiction and the other is a memoir, provides a unique opportunity to analyze parallels between an actual Chicana experience (as written in Castillo's memoir) and a representation of the same in a fictional form.

19 4.1. The Mother-Daughter Relationship in Sandra Cisneros' Caramelo

Sandra Cisneros was born in 1954 in Chicago to a Mexican father and a

Mexican American mother. She is the only daughter in the family of seven children.

Cisneros spent much of her childhood in a poor Puerto Rican neighborhood. Cisneros' mother encouraged her to read, write and study. She graduated from Chicago's Loyola

University (B.A. in 1976) and then attended a prestigious Creative Writing program at the University of Iowa (M.F.A. in 1978) where she realized that her own experiences were completely different from those of her classmates. While they graduated at the best schools in the country, she felt inferior and ostracized, she described it as being like "the weed among the city's cracks" (Ganz 24). She started to write about the things she knew intimately - the neighborhood she grew up in and the people she met there. This developed into a common theme in her works, her unique experiences as a

Hispanic woman (Ganz 24). She received many literary awards and in 2016 she was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Obama for "enriching the

American narrative. Through her novels, short stories, and poetry, she explores issues of race, class, and gender through the lives of ordinary people straddling multiple cultures. As an educator, she has deepened our understanding of American identity"

("National Medal of Arts").

Cisneros' first novel The House on Mango Street (1984) became very popular and is currently one of her best-known books. It describes the life of a young Chicana girl, Esperanza, who lives in a poor Latino neighborhood. The themes in The House on

Mango Street are very similar to the ones in Cisneros' second book Caramelo (2002): growing up in two different cultures, family life, class and racial conflicts, and female abuse. These two books are both partially autobiographical. Cisneros' other famous

20 works include a collection of poetry My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1987) and a collection

of short stories Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991).

The novel Caramelo is divided into three sections and is set in Chicago, Mexico

City, and San Antonio. The main character Celaya narrates the life of three generations of the Reyes family, including her grandmother's life story. One of the most prominent themes in the book is the mother-daughter relationship. Celaya is struggling to create a bond with her mother, Zoila, who follows the traditional patriarchal family structure and prefers her sons to her daughter. The lack of maternal love makes Celaya question her identity and her position within the family. As she grows up, her relationship to her mother changes - first she desires her mother's attention and love, then she rejects her.

However, by narrating her grandmother's life story, Celaya begins to understand that nothing is unambiguous and that the circumstances under which the Mexican women grow up shape their lives. Although Celaya nicknames her grandmother "the Awful

Grandmother" she becomes aware that she is quite like her, and that if she does not want to end up being 'awful' like her, she must learn to accept her mother and her cultural background.

There are three major mother-daughter relationships described in the book. One is the above-mentioned relationship between Celaya and her mother Zoila. The other is between the Awful Grandmother and her daughter, Celaya's Aunt Light-Skin. The last relationship is between the Awful Grandmother and her mother Guillermina. All these have one thing in common: the mother does not show much affection towards her daughter, or - as is the case with the Awful Grandmother - she grows up without her mother altogether. This brings suffering to each of the daughters and, consequently,

Celaya and Aunt Light-Skin become to resent their mothers.

21 The Awful Grandmother is a nickname given to her by Celaya. The reason for that is that the grandmother is generally unpleasant and bitter. However, her real name is Soledad (solitude). The change from being Soledad to being the Awful Grandmother correlates with her life story - as is gradually revealed by Celaya, who, persuaded by

Soledad, starts to narrate her grandmother's life story: it is one of loneliness and rejection, causing Soledad to become bitter and, indeed, "awful". This serves to humanize the grandmother and explain the circumstances that made her the way she is now.

Soledad does not get an opportunity to develop a relationship with her mother because her mother dies when she is very young. Afterwards, Soledad's father loses interest in her and she ends up being alone. The only thing Soledad inherits after her mother dies is an unfinished rebozo, a traditional long Mexican scarf made by her mother. The unfinished rebozo is the only thing which accompanies Soledad throughout her whole life. She uses it to dry hear tears, to make herself warm, and it is with her on every significant occasion: "There was no one to advise her, caress her, call her sweet names, soothe her, or save her. ... No soft hair across her cheek, only the soft fringe of the unfinished shawl" (Caramelo 95). It is this unfinished rebozo that represents the motherly figure, and the 'unfinished' relationship between Soledad and her mother.

Soledad explains that the knowledge of weaving rebozos is transferred from mothers to daughters, but each woman adds a distinctive touch to the weaving technique. Because the knowledge of weaving is not transferred to Soledad, she is not able to build upon it - a parallel to her own life experiences. She does not have anybody to explain to her the language of rebozo, the language used to talk to men. People keep telling her: "take care of yourself {Caramelo 153), meaning she should be careful with men. But without her mother's guidance, Soledad misunderstands, thinking it's just her hair and clothes she 22 should take care of. Through this story, the Awful Grandmother transfers her life experience to Celaya, almost as if she taught her the art of rebozo weaving. And really, as Celaya narrates the story she often brings in her own elements, her own distinctive touch, despite being called by her grandmother for exaggerating (Caramelo 92, 97).

When Soledad is sent away by her father, she first lives with her aunt and then moves to live as a servant with the family of her future husband. Neither her aunt,

Aunty Fina, nor her future mother-in-law, Regina, serve as good role models to

Soledad. Aunty Fina has so many children, she does not even remember their names, and ignores the fact that her husband abuses Soledad and leaves Soledad to deal with it herself. Regina, who has a similar background as Soledad, is not sympathetic with her either. Regina adores her son Narciso, Soledad's future husband, and overlooks his attitude towards Soledad. Even though Narciso is intimate with Soledad, when she becomes pregnant he has no intention of marrying her. It is his father who forces him, in the name of honor, to marry Soledad: "So it was when Eleuterio [Narciso's father] decided to intervene and give his son some much-needed advice. He could see his son coming and going into the kitchen at night even if Regina pretended not to. He was not blind." (Caramelo 157). Eleuterio feels ashamed that his son and his wife pretend that nothing is happening. Only after the intervention of his father, Narciso realizes what his obligation is, and he marries Soledad. Soledad thinks that the marriage will end her solitude, but their marriage is far from idyllic. Narciso is not faithful to her and it becomes clear why she is so emotionally attached to her firstborn son - he was finally someone she could love completely and who would love her back.

Soledad misses her mother, she idealizes her, compares her to "God" (Caramelo

120), as if to compare her to the Mexican mother figure La Virgen. Yet, despite all that

23 she is not able to bond with her very own daughter. On the contrary, she worships her son and deals with her daughter from the position of superiority and without any compassion. Soledad ends up creating the same family structure as is common in traditional Mexican families. She internalizes what Regina did, following the tradition of Mexican mothers who "are the most devoted of mamas ... when it comes to their boys" (Caramelo 128). This contrasting attitude toward her son and her daughter clashes with the traditional Mexican view of mothers being sacred, almost holy, like La

Virgen: how can the mother be like La Virgen when she hurts her own daughter? By showing another dimension of the motherhood, i.e., the mother-daughter relationship,

Cisneros challenges the notion of the perfect mother.

Aunty Light-Skin does not represent a functional motherly figure either. She marries a man, not knowing he is already married, so she ends up living outside of marriage with her daughter. In a traditional Mexican family, this would be a reason for being ashamed, but interestingly nobody is shaming Aunty Light-Skin in her family. If

Soledad was completely true to the Mexican traditions she would be ashamed of her daughter, but there is no sign of shame in the novel. Moreover, Aunty Light-Skin has a

'secret' relationship with her boss, and her mother seems to tolerate that as well. Again,

Soledad's personality is not clearly defined as evil nor as completely good. She falls somewhere in between, as is often repeated in the book: "Just enough but not too much

..." (Caramelo 29, 92).

When Soledad's husband dies, she sinks into loneliness again and in her grief, she gets into an argument with Aunty Light-Skin and tells her that she hates her (Caramelo

262). This argument destroys the fragile relationship between them, and Aunty Light-

Skin moves out of her mother's house. Aunty Light-Skin does not understand why her mother tells her that she hates her (Caramelo 240), and at the same time the Awful

24 Grandmother thinks of her daughter as "ungrateful" because she was always free to do whatever she wanted with her life (Caramelo 240). As mentioned above, the Awful

Grandmother never shames her daughter for the unsuccessful marriage. She even lets

Aunty Light-Skin and her fatherless daughter live in her house. But Aunty Light-Skin never really seems to appreciate it. This argument also reveals why the Awful

Grandmother raised her daughter the way she did: she always thought that her husband and her son Narciso needed her much more than the daughter, who was independent and could "always be counted on to take care of herself' (Caramelo 262). Thus, it is not that the Awful Grandmother does not love her daughter, she actually thinks that her daughter is strong and treats her accordingly. But Aunty Light-Skin does not know this, and

Soledad never tells her. It is Celaya who gets the opportunity to understand her grandmother's motives. A similar argument, this time between Celaya and her mother, appears later in the book (Caramelo 364). Celaya is depressed; she feels alone even though she lives in a house full of people. When her mother asks her what is the matter with her, she replies: "Since when do you care? ... All you ever worry about is your boys"

(Caramelo 364). Like Aunty Light-Skin, she feels abandoned by her mother. It shows that the relationships of the Awful Grandmother and her daughter, and the relationship of

Celaya and her mother follow the same pattern.

Celaya's mother follows the traditional patriarchal model of the family, perpetuating the subordinate role of a woman and favoring her sons. Since her early childhood, Celaya struggles to create a good relationship with her mother. The only moment Celaya feels connected to her mother is during their walks in Mexico: "I'm so happy to have my mother all to myself buying good things to eat, and talking, just to me, without, without mu brothers bothering us." (Caramelo 66). Celaya enjoys having her mother only to herself. Additionally, being outside their house, far from their families and

25 everyday life, Zoila acts differently - she is more attentive and tender with her daughter.

Escaping from their family and from their strictly defined roles helps them create a bond.

Far away from the everyday housework, Celaya realizes how beautiful her mother is, and she suddenly sees a completely different person, "like a movie star" (Caramelo 66). These walks show Celaya that her mother is more than just a mother and housewife, that there is another part of her mother's personality, one she cannot access while she is fulfilling the duties of a 'good mother'. But the moment they come back home, Celaya's father and her grandmother are angry, they do not like them going out together:

The Grandmother makes a face, and Aunty Light-Skin makes a face, and Father

makes faces too, and later Mother scolds me and says, - Big-mount, why did you

have to go and tell? But if I wasn't supposed to tell, why wasn't I supposed to?

And why didn't Mother tell me not to tell before not after? And now why is

everyone angry just because we ate in a restaurant? (Caramelo 66)

Celaya is confused by the behavior of her mother and her family. She apparently does not know the unspoken rules of the house and does not understand, why they are angry if the only thing they did was going to a restaurant. The reason for that is, that escaping from the everyday life and acting out of the norm is not tolerated. It is not only the father who perpetuates this stereotype but the grandmother and Auntly Light-Skin as well. When

Celaya grows up and tells her father that she would like to leave the family and move to another city with her friend, she, like her mother before her, is faced with the stark reality of the Mexican culture which does not allow acting differently than what the cultural values and norms dictate. Her father scolds her severely: "If you leave your father's house without a husband you are worse than a dog. You aren't my daughter. You aren't a Reyes.

You hurt me just talking like this. If you leave alone you leave like, and forgive me for saying this but it's true, como una prostituta" {Caramelo 360). According to her father,

26 if she does not fulfill her essential family functions, such as being a mother and having a husband, she will attack his cultural beliefs and she will become a traitor like La Malinche did.

When Zoila argues with Celaya's father and then runs away, Celaya realizes that her mother does not have anywhere to go, asking: "where can Mother go? She doesn't have any money. All she's got is her husband and kids" (Caramelo 83). Celaya realizes that even if her mother wanted to leave, there is no possibility for her to do so. She devoted her whole life to her husband and children, and now she simply cannot move out and live on her own. This illustrates the complicated situation that many women face when they want to leave their husbands but are unable to do so because they do not have any resources for that. Later in the book when Celaya wants to go to a school which is closer to her house and is cheaper, but is not as good as the school chosen by her parents, her mother says: "- Look, we can scrimp on lots of things, but not on your education. What if you get married and something happens? - Like what? - Something.

You never know. You might need to be able to take care of yourself, that's all. Just in case" (Caramelo 313). This demonstrates that her mother realizes the risk of the situation she is in; she knows that education can provide opportunities for her daughter.

Even though it seems that Zoila never really bonds with her daughter, it is apparent that she wants her to live a better life.

Celaya's relationship towards her mother changes when she becomes a teenager.

She does not want her mother's attention anymore. Celaya becomes resentful towards

Zoila; she says: "I never think of Mother without dodging to get out of her way"

(Caramelo 361). The reason for that is, that Celaya feels that her mother favors her sons and never sides with her. On the other hand, Zoila thinks that Celaya exaggerates and complains about everything without a reason; she even compares her to La Llorona:

27 "Cripes, Mother says, You were - a llorona when you were a baby, and you're still a llorona now." (Caramelo 306). Celaya is looking for somebody to substitute the missing maternal love, so she turns to Ernesto, a friend of her brother. She thinks that he will make her happy and decides to run away from her family to Mexico City with him.

But shortly, Ernesto abandons Celaya and she becomes lonely again. By running away with Ernesto, Celaya repeats the same mistake her grandmother does, thinking that perhaps a husband would help her fill the void. But she ends up hurt like Soledad.

Luckily, she does not get married, so she can learn from the mistake and is able to heed her grandmother's advice. Soledad says: "Celaya don't wind up like me, settling with the first man who paid me a compliment" (Caramelo 407). Her grandmother tells her that nobody will be able to fill in for the maternal love, the only person who can change the way she feels is herself.

Back in Mexico City Celaya goes to visit a basilica, accompanied only by her grandmother's rebozo. While she is in the basilica she sees La Virgen looking down at her and she suddenly realizes: "each and every person [is] connected to me, and me connected to them, like the strands of a rebozo" (Caramelo 389). Here, La Virgen functions as a unifying agent who helps Celaya understand the complexity of the world.

At this moment, Celaya perceives the universe as one rebozo which is made of single threads, interwoven together to form one piece. Celaya realizes that she is just one part of a complex pattern, one where she, her mother and her grandmother are all but strands interlocking with one another.

By the end of the novel Celaya realizes that she faces the danger of being like her grandmother - of becoming bitter and awful. After the Awful Grandmother dies, Celaya keeps seeing her grandmother's spirit who is refusing to leave her alone. She asks her grandmother: "'... why do you keep haunting me?' [Soledad replies] 'Me? Haunting you?

28 It's you Celaya, who's haunting me. I can't bear it. Why do you insist on repeating my life? Is that what you want? To live as I did? There's no sin in falling in love with your heart and with your body, but wait till you're old enough to love yourself first'" (Cisneros

406). Soledad cautions Celaya to avoid living the same life as she did. By accepting her mother, her grandmother and her family, Celaya can accept herself and fill the void inside her. Like the intertwining threads in a rebozo, the paths of Celaya's life connect her with her grandmother and her mother. Celaya is able to reconstruct her own identity as well as her Chicano identity by exploring and retelling the moments of their lives.

In Caramelo Cisneros portrays the positive and negative aspects of women and emphasizes the traditional relationships between men and women in the Mexican and

Chicano culture. Cisneros demystifies the notion of the perfect harmony between mothers and daughters and she focuses on the real-life situations of all the main female characters pictured in the book. She does not romanticize the motherhood, but rather, exposes real dilemmas that each of the characters experiences, based on their particular cultural backgrounds. Cisneros presents Celaya as a character who goes through various situations where she gets confronted with all of the three mythical mother figures. Her mother calls her La Llorona, because, according to her, she whines without a reason.

Later, when she wants to leave home and live alone, her father confronts her with the model of La Malinche; and finally, Celaya connects with the image of La Virgen, who gives her strength and helps her overcome her sadness when Ernesto leaves her in Mexico alone.

29 4.2. The Mother-daughter Relationship in Black Dove by Ana Castillo

Ana Castillo was born in 1963 in Chicago. Her mother was Mexican, her father was American. She studied art education at Northeastern Illinois University (B.A. in

1975) and afterwards she finished her M.A. in Latin American Studies at the in 1979. Before finishing her M.A. studies, her first collection of poems

Otro Canto (1977) was published. Soon after that, her second collection of poems The

Invitation (1979) was published. Even though she has continued to write poetry, after

The Invitation she started to write novels as well. Her first novel The Mixquiahuala

Letters was published in 1986, and since then she has written several more. Apart from the novels she wrote two non-fiction books - Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on

Xicanisma (1994) and Black Dove: Mama, Mi'jo, and Me (2016). Massacre of the

Dreamers is a collection of critical essays about the Chicana identity, social struggles of

Chicanas, male dominance and oppression of women's sexuality. She introduces the term Xicanisma which describes her interpretation of Chicana feminism (Massacre 9).

In order to find and define the Chicana identity, she uses many references to the indigenous past of Chicanas throughout her works. Like Cisneros, Castillo draws on her experiences of a Chicana feminist growing up in Chicano neighborhood.

Castillo's book Black Dove: Mamá, M'ijo and Me is her first memoir in essays.

Castillo writes about growing up in Chicago and about her relationship with her mother and other members of her family. She describes the contrasting relationships with her reserved mother on the one hand and her caring aunt Tia on the other. Similarly to

Celaya in Sandra Cisneros' Caramelo, Castillo never bonded with her mother. By retelling her mother's life story, she is trying to better understand the circumstances and experiences that shaped her mother's personality, and similarly to Celaya, by accepting 30 her mother's personality, she is able to shape her own identity. The title of the book refers to the name of the song "Paloma Negra" by Tomas Mendez. For Castillo, this song marks the day she left her mother's side, or rather her mother let her go (Black

Dove loc. 3020).

At the beginning of the book Castillo narrates her mother's childhood. Even though her mother, Raquel, was American-born, her family was forced to move back to

Mexico when she was young. The formerly middle-class family suddenly became very poor when they were repatriated to Mexico. To complicate things further, Raquel's parents died soon afterwards, and she became an orphan. At the age of nine Raquel started to work as a servant. When she was 18, she was raped by her boss and got pregnant. Castillo comments: "The best my great-grandfather could do at that point on behalf of my mother's honor was to get the man to provide for her" (Black Dove loc.

207). There was no lawsuit, nobody did anything to punish the man. He did provide for

Raquel, but he took advantage of it and continued to visit her. Shortly she was pregnant with another baby. This was the reality: if a woman was raped and got pregnant, the only thing she could hope for was that the man who did it would take care of her and her baby. Initially this was the case with Raquel too, as she settled down in the flat provided for her by her boss. However, she later found her own agency and decided to move to the U.S. on her own. By retelling the life story of her mother, Castillo realizes that her mother saved her from the "brutal urban reality" (Black Dove loc. 147) and the poverty of Mexico. Even though their relationship was not as Castillo would have imagined, she realizes that her mother did her best to provide her children with more opportunities than she herself had.

31 Like the Awful Grandmother in Cisneros' Caramelo, Castillo's mother too did not have a role model to follow, so she raised her children in a way similar to how she herself was raised (i.e. transferring the subordinate roles of women). When Castillo managed to escape rape by an acquaintance of her family, she tried to tell her mother about it, but her mother did not do anything about it. Castillo explains: "I tried to tell her what had happened. She did not stop her tasks. She did not look me in the eye. She had no questions, nor did she even seem surprised. She simply advised, 'A man is a man before anything else,' as if she had had that line memorized since the time of her own girlhood" (Black Dove loc. 884). However, it was not for the lack of maternal love.

Rather, Castillo's mother was only transferring what she was taught when she was young. The man who had raped Raquel was much older and had his own family, but she had to accept him anyway because it was the only way to maintain her dignity, at least from her grandparents' point of view. That is why Raquel did nothing to protect her daughter in this respect, she only perpetuated what she learned when she was young.

Like the Awful Grandmother, Castillo found no support in her mother and had to take care of herself: "I was not protected by anyone. No one came to my aid. I was a skinny kid, even anemic, but I had learned not to go down" (Black Dove loc. 867). Yet, this was the case with Raquel as well - she was not protected by anyone either, and after five years of living in an apartment rented by her boss, she finally found her own agency and decided to "make her own path" (Black Dove 209) and left to the U.S. In this manner, Raquel did not think that what happened to Castillo was anything out of the ordinary.

Throughout her life, Castillo was trying to bond with her mother, she "would have liked to have a mother to talk with" (Black Dove loc. 664), but she never really succeeded. While her mother was practical and realistic, Castillo is the polar opposite: 32 '"Ana del Aire,' my mother called me (after the popular telenovela of the 1970s).

Woman of the air, not earthbound, not rooted to one place" (Black Dove loc. 313).

Because Castillo's mother was a down-to-earth person she never really understood her daughter's need to share intimacy. For Raquel, Castillo was Ana del Aire, a daydreamer, an extroverted person. Raquel was much closer with Castillo's half-sister.

Castillo describes:

As a young adult the combination of strictness and what felt by then to be a

deliberate refusal of closeness from Mamá to me was obvious. My attempts to

have open conversations almost always failed. "Why does she want to talk to me

about everything?" she said to a relative once in my presence. She did have a close

relationship with one of her children. I mention this now only to show that she

was capable of it. (Black Dove loc. 932)

Castillo felt overlooked, noticing that her mother was closer to Castillo's older half- sister. However, Castillo scarcely mentions her older sister in the book, so it remains unclear why she was the preferred daughter. Maybe it was because when Raquel decided to leave Mexico and moved to the U.S., she took with her only Castillo's older sister. They spent the first year in the U.S. together before Raquel managed to bring her son as well. It is possible that because this first year was very hard for Raquel, it created a solid foundation to build their relationship upon. Her daughter helped her overcome her loneliness. Presumably, Castillo's older sister is like their mother in this respect - more down-to-earth. Castillo realized throughout the years that the reason why she was unable to bond with her mother was because they "were different as women" (Black

Dove loc.957). Even though Castillo never became close with her mother, she still played an important role in her life. Castillo valued her opinions, her criticism and she

33 understands that without her mother, she would not be the person she is today. Castillo writes:

She [Castillo's mother] was the only woman permitted to scold me or whose

praises mattered to me. At home my mamá expressed her opinions, criticisms, and

occasional compliments. I took it all in. With regards to my mother, love and

connection were synonymous. Throughout my life I yearned for that tie with her,

and often I did not feel it. No doubt, it provoked me to be the mother I became—

more open. Present. Past comfort zones. (Black Dove loc. 2873)

Castillo understands that everything she experienced with her mother helped her evolve as a person and become a better mother, or become more like a mother she would wanted herself. Castillo admired her mother's strength and her perseverance: "But it was the perseverance of Raquel the Rock and the irrepressible sensuality of Flora the thick-stemmed calla lily that saved me" (Black Dove loc. 312). The name "Raquel the

Rock" comes from Castillo's mother's family name Rocha - rock - which seems rather fitting since Castillo describes her mother as strong and persistent like a rock. She managed to leave Mexico on her own and managed to support her family with two different jobs, commuting to work at a distant factory, and at the same time taking care of the house and teaching young Castillo Spanish. Castillo realizes that she inherited much of her mother's strength, which helped her go through the hard parts of her life - such as when her son got imprisoned.

During her life, Castillo was much closer with her aunt Flora, Raquel's younger sister. Just like Raquel the Rock was an apt name for her mother, Flora, literally a

"flower", was a rather fitting name for the aunt. As Castillo puts it: "the flower in

Flora's name perfumed her urban life and warded off the sadness of trying times"

34 (Black Dove loc. 305). Aunt Flora was a woman who knew how to enjoy life even during the tough days. Even though Aunt Flora barely knew her own mother, who died when Flora was very young, she turned into a caring mother (unlike the Awful

Grandmother in Cisneros' Caramelo). She was extroverted and cheerful. These are the qualities that Castillo missed in her own mother. Even though Castillo later turned into

"the career woman" (Black Dove loc. 407), she still shared many things in common with her aunt, as they were both daydreamers. Castillo writes: "Over the years, as a grown• up, (unlike with my mamá) it was my aunt who received my stories without judgment— news of the public life that evolved from writing, my ended relationships, my comings and goings" (Black Dove loc. 411). So unlike Castillo's mother who shared more criticism than compliments, aunt Flora was the one who accepted Castillo as she was, without any judgment. While Castillo's mother served as the driving motivational force, aunt Flora was a friend with whom Castillo shared anything, knowing that Flora would not judge her (Black Dove loc. 366). Castillo was also enchanted by aunt Flora's sensuality and femininity. Unlike Castillo's mother who never flirted with anyone, Flora possessed an "effortless ability to attract men" (Black Dove loc. 459). Castillo is truly fascinated by her aunt's spontaneity and femininity, but it in the end it is the combination of the two, Castillo's mother and Flora, which made Castillo complete. She is inspired by her mother's strength and at the same time by her aunt's ability to live her life to the fullest.

Another important figure Castillo mentions in the book is her paternal grandmother who took care of Castillo while she was still young. Because Castillo's parents spent long hours at work, Castillo's grandmother became her primary caretaker.

For Castillo, her grandmother was a source of unconditional love. She loved everybody, not only her family members but virtually everybody she knew. Castillo's grandmother 35 was a local curandera (a healer) and people from the whole neighborhood often seek out her help. She was patient with all her patients, especially with children. She inspired

Castillo to be compassionate not only with others but also with herself. Castillo thinks that without her grandmother, she would be lost in the society and would not be able to become a mother {Black Dove loc. 2760). Castillo also traces her spiritual journey back to her grandmother's medical practice. Although Castillo's grandmother was a

Protestant, she still believed in La Virgen, and since she was a curandera she had strong ties with her indigenous culture. {Black Dove loc. 2586). This spiritual attitude inspired

Castillo to also combine various aspects of the indigenous culture and Catholic religion.

She believes in La Virgen but, like other Chicana feminists, she considers La Virgen the true successor to the Mexican goddess Tonantzin, who has the ability to not only create but also to destroy. Therefore, she combines the traditional view of La Virgen with the cult of an indigenous goddess. "I came to accept Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom I loved

(and yet saw as stripped of goddess powers), as simultaneously the Great Mother, fecund and formidable." (Black Dove loc. 2576). To her, La Virgen - as presented by the Catholic church - is too docile and submissive, stripped of the abilities that

Tonantzin has. She rather thinks of La Virgen as a successor of Tonantzin, i.e., both a strong and feminine character.

Castillo's grandmother, like Castillo's mother and aunt, had a great influence on the author. From Raquel Castillo inherited her strength and ferocity; from her aunt she learned about femininity, sensuality, and friendship; while her grandmother showed

Castillo how to be compassionate and caring. As in many Chicana and Mexican families, there was not an exclusive motherly figure in Castillo's life, no idolized

Virgen of Guadalupe. Her mother, grandmother and aunt were all helping each other, working in the house, raising the children together. Each of them shared some of their 36 own personality with the children. It was the existence of three different human souls, each contributing a little of its own to create the complete motherly image, perhaps greater than the sum of its parts.

37 5. Conclusion

Even though one of the books is a fiction and the other is a memoir, they present the mother-daughter dilemma in much the same way. Both Castillo and Cisneros portray the relationship between the mother and the daughter as one of the key aspects of the development of the daughter. One can follow the daughters as they live through various stages of their lives, constantly iterating on the relationship with their mothers.

At first, they strive for a closer relationship with their mothers, then they go through a phase of rejecting them. Ultimately, they manage to recognize and accept the history behind their mothers' lives and thus finally reconcile with them. Neither of the authors portrays the mother as a passive or powerless figure, nor as a bad mother; rather they are exploring their reasoning and customs, many of which are rooted in the Mexican patriarchal culture. They picture her as a complex person, and simultaneously they write about the importance of other women in the relationship with the daughter. Cisneros and Castillo are trying to point out the one-dimensional perception of women in

Mexican and Chicano cultures. Traditionally, the only accepted role models are either the completely devoted, selfless and idealized La Virgen, or the traitorous 'bad mother'

La Llorona, or La Malinche. However, Cisneros and Castillo are challenging this view by portraying their characters as complex living beings, combining qualities of all the three models.

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40 6. Abstract in English

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the topic of mother-daughter relationships in Chicana literature. In Mexican and Chicano culture, the mother figure has been traditionally compared to one of three models - La Virgen, La Llorona and La

Malinche. Women see the role model either as a completely devoted, selfless, idealized mother La Virgen (the Mexican version of the Virgin Mary); or the unacceptable mother model like La Llorona, or La Malinche - both seen by the Mexicans and

Chicanos as traitors. As Chicana feminists emerged along with the Chicano movement in 1970s, they started to point out the complicated position of the mother figure in

Mexican and Chicano history and culture. This thesis explores the topic of mother- daughter in Sandra Cisneros' novel Caramelo (2002) and Ana Castillo's memoir Black

Dove. Mamá, Mi'jo, and Me (2016). These books were chosen as a representation of

Chicano literature.

Chicana feminist authors like Gloria Anzaldua, Sandra Cisneros, or Ana

Castillo started to portray the mother as a complex person, not only good or bad.

Mexican mothers usually prefer their sons to their daughters and this results in a dysfunctional relationship between the mothers and daughters. The absence of maternal affection and general emptiness of these relationships is portrayed by Cisneros and

Castillo in their books, and is presented as a key element in the development of the main protagonists. She tries to explore the reasons behind her mother's behavior. She realizes that her mother was brought up in a patriarchal culture and that this has inevitably impacted her behavior. But it is not just the mother, but also other women, like the grandmother or close relatives who consequently act upon the main protagonist. The thesis explores the process of shaping identity of the main protagonists.

41 7. Abstract in Czech

Práce se zabývá hlavním tématem americko-hispánské literatury, a sice vztahem matky a dcery. V hispánsko-amerických kulturách byla role matky tradičně srovnávána s jedním ze třech modelů - La Virgen, La Llorona, La Malinche. Ženě je předkládán vzor buď v absolutně oddané, nesobecké matce La Virgen (mexická verze panny

Marie), nebo neakceptovatelný vzor matky, kterým je La Llorona a La Malinche.

Poslední dvě jsou viděny Mexičany jako zrádkyně. Na složitost role matky v mexické a americko-hispánské historii a kultuře začaly poukazovat americko-hispánské feministky společně s hispánským hnutím v 70. letech. V práci je analyzováno téma vztahu matky a dcery v knize Caramelo (2002) Sandry Cisneros a memoáru Black Dove. Mama, Mi'jo, and Me (2016). Tato literatura byla vybrána jako zástupce literárního směru reprezentovaného například autorkami Gloria Anzaldúa, Sandra Cisneros a Anna

Castillo.

Uvedené autorky začaly zobrazovat matku jako komplexní osobu, nejen dobrou, nebo špatnou. Mexické matky obvykle preferovaly své syny před dcerami, a to vedlo k nefunkčnímu vztahu mezi matkou a dcerou. Nedostatek mateřské náklonnosti je v knihách Cisneros a Castillo vykreslován jako základní element ovlivňující vývoj hlavní protagonistky. Ta se snaží zjistit kořeny chování matky. Uvědomuje si, že její matka byla vychována v patriarchální kultuře, která j i nevyhnutelně ovlivnila. Není to ale jenom matka, která formuje životní postoje hlavní hrdinky. Je to i babička a jiné blízké příbuzné. Práce shrnuje výsledky analýzy chování protagonistek příběhů, které se snaží vytvořit si vlastní identitu.

42