Sons Of Malinche In The Labyrinth Of Solitude Summary

2) The essential attribute of the macho—power—almost always reveals itself as a capacity for wounding, humiliating, annihilating. Nothing is more natural, therefore, than his indifference toward the offspring he engenders. He is not the founder of a people; he is not a patriarch who exercises patria potesta; he is not a king or a judge or the chieftain of a clan. He is power isolated in its own potency, without relationship or compromise with the outside world. He is pure in communication, a solitude that devours itself and everything it touches. He does not pertain to our world; he is not from our city; he does not live in our neighborhood. He comes from far away: he is always far away. He is the Stranger. It is impossible not to notice the
His essay “sons of Malinche” in the Labyrinth of Solitude, Paz describes macho power as one who has “the capacity for wounding, humiliating and annihilating”. He uses this definition to metaphor macho power as the “white privilege” that is given to men of European decent. Like the Europeans, Paz shares the belief that those of indigenous decent are like “a solitude that devours itself and everything it touches”. In other words, Paz believes that those of the indigenous race have no power and are therefore worthless. This belief of indigenous having no worth begins with the story of Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, who sexually violated his indigenous translator and advisor Dona Marina. After Marina was violated by Cortes, she gave birth to the first son who was born of both indigenous and European decent. This gave Marina the title of La Malinche or the violated mother, who now symbolizes how the indigenous race was violated by the Europeans. Indigenous males like Paz, are denied the freedoms of their male European peer’s due to the “worthless” label that was bestowed onto his race by La Malinche. Paz believes that the only way to leave these historical labels is for Mexicans in power to reshape their community’s views regarding the privileges that are given to European men, and the privileges that are taken
Gloria Anzaldúa defies her border culture’s female gender standards by using her native male gendered language to speak out against her border culture’s beliefs and encouraging other Chicanas to embrace what the American culture has to offer. Border cultures are formed when two very different cultures inhabit the same space. For many individuals living in a border culture, language is a key aspect that not only defines the culture you originate from, but also dictates the standards that society holds you to. Anzaldúa is fluent in a total of 7 languages, all varying in forms of Spanish and English. Due to a majority of her native tongue being Spanish, she was held to beliefs supported by her indigenous culture. Beliefs such as, to be indigenous is to be vulnerable, a woman must be silent in the presence of men and the belief that a woman is not worthy of an education. Anzaldúa defies the beliefs of her border culture when she uses both the English and indigenous languages to share her lived experiences of leaving Mexico and getting an education in the