Sandra Cleófilas And Girl Summary

The role of women in society has become a question of interest for writers for some centuries, since these have traditionally been depicted as mere objects of pleasure, that also were responsible for the household chores, as well as nurturing and taking care of the children. Furthermore, the way women were represented was completely opposite to men, as if gender determined one’s personality, intellect or skills. Women were seen as the weak ones, too emotional, incapable of reasoning and dependent on the males of their family (and afterwards, their husbands). On their behalf, men were the rational and intelligent part of the relationship, strong and the leaders. This opposition is clearly represented in the stories “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, two authors that focus on the female character and approach the topic exposed before. In this paper I will demonstrate that, despite the fact that they have grown up in different cultures and environments, both Cleófilas and Girl are very share similar characteristics with regard to the roles they are demanded to perform in the patriarchal societies in which they were born. To begin with, Cleófilas is a young woman that was brought up by her father in Mexico and treated like “the princess” (Cisneros 48) of the house; on her behalf, Girl —whose name we ignore— was raised in Jamaica by an

Thus, the lack of expression in women from traditional societies is reflected in the mutism of Cleófilas and Girl, who do not confront her husband and mother respectively. Nevertheless, “Woman Hollering Creek” ends with the victorious escape of Cleófilas from male tyranny toward toward her freedom and a life empty of pain for love. However, this is not the case for Girl, whose end remains in mystery for