Latin Woman Themes

The film, the Bridges of Madison County, bombards the audience with a variety of literary elements and themes that in the end help convey the overall plot of the story. Themes such as family and passion make an appearance in the short stories ”The Storm” by Kate Chopin as well as “The Myth of the Latin Woman..” written by Judith Ortiz Cofer. The third chosen theme, marriage, also holds a huge part in the film and “The Storm”; however, not so much in “The Myth of the Latin Woman..”. In conjunction, these themes are used by the authors and producers to enhance their narration and transform them into coherent pieces.

The authors and producers of both the film and “The Storm” utilize the theme marriage with a dark twist. Browsing through the literal

The difference did not reflect single-handedly on the marriage, but on the family as a whole. Family was a big component in these short stories, including “The Myth of the Latin Woman”. In the Bridges of Madison County, Francesca’s family was the major reason as to why she didn’t follow through with her plan of packing everything, and disappearing with Robert. However, her attitude towards her family was the same as before they took their trip. She was equally as distant towards her husband and her children upon their arrival. This is where the film and “The Storm” differ greatly. Once Calixta’s family returned home safely, she bombarded Bobint with questions about their well-being and “kiss[ed] him(Bibi) effusively”(Chopin, 6). Calixta showed genuine happiness when her family arrived, something Francesca had not done. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman”, she talks more about her culture than family. However, there is a part in the story where she shouts out her family and thanks them for giving her a chance at an educated life style. She talks about considering herself “one of the lucky ones” and praises over the fact that her “parents made it possible for [her] to acquire a stronger footing in the mainstream culture” due to her schooled self. Because her family gave her the chance to be an educated individual, she is able to her own prime example that Hispanic woman can be civilized and stray away from the

As for The Bridges of Madison County, passion is seen in the scenes of intimacy with Robert. The night when slow dancing leads to falling into the tangible sexual tension between the two. The passion between them brought out a different side of Francesa describing it as “acting like another woman, yet [she] was more [herself] than ever before.” Similarly, in “The Storm”, the word passion is even used to describe the tension between Calixta and Alce. Following the word passion, it is described as “a white flame which penetrated and found response in the depths of his own serious nature that had never yet been reached” (Chopin, 5). In addition, the author gives fairly detailed description of Calixtas and Alces sexual interacion. For example, the author said things like “he possessed her” and “her mouth was a fountain of delight”(Chopin, 5). As for the film and the short story “The Storm”, passion and a desire for one another is what lead to their affairs. As for “The Myth of the Latin Woman…”, the main character shows a different kind of passion. Her passion lies on changing the perspective of a Latin woman from an uneducated domestic who belongs in the kitchen into what a Latin woman actually is and can achieve if desired. In the short story, she even mentions that her “personal goal. . .is to try to replace the old pervasive stereotypes and myths about Latinas