Symbolism In Woman Hollering Creek

The setting of the story “Woman Hollering Creek” reveals that women in Texas and Mexico are looked down upon and often mistreated. In the story, women in Mexico are seen as inferior once in the United States due to the lack of English spoken. The setting of the story reveals that the towns “are built so that you have to depend on husbands. Or you have to stay home.” (Cisneros 54). This reveals that women are expected to do the basic “womanly” chores. Such as clean, cook, and care for children. Cleofilas comes to find that she has no community support, no friends to console to, and lacks independence. In Mexico, Cleofilas has countless opportunities. She has a community that will support her, a family, and the sole belief in God. In the United
In every culture, stories from their culture linger in the minds of those who care enough to realize what they are intended to. In Texas and Mexico, folk tales are widely known of but people in the towns fail to understand the concept of them. In the short story “Woman Hollering Creek”, La Llorona plays a big part in the Spanish tales. La Llorona is a tale of a woman who drowned her children after allegedly being abused by her husband. In hopes to save her children from the misery of abuse, she chooses to drown her children in a lake and proceeds to kill herself. The story of La Llorona ties into the story “Woman Hollering Creek” because Cleofilas begins to find herself stuck in the same position of La Llorona. According to the article “La Llorona” the author states, “she is the most widely known ghost in Mexico” (West 17). To this day, Hispanic children learn of La Llorona. According to author of the book “Tales of San Antonio Ghosts”, Docia Schultz Williams states, "Mothers, grandmothers and aunts of little Hispanic children have long told them to stay clear of rivers and streams and to come in before dark or 'La Llorona might get you, '". This quote reveals how throughout the years, the story of La Llorona has changed, but the whole conception of the story will never be forgotten. The life of Cleofilas is see in numerous ways as the life of La Llorona. In the article, “Haunting the
According to the Office of National Statistics, last year alone, an estimated 1.4 million women were involved in cases of domestic abuse. The ONS also revealed that women who lived in poorer income homes were more likely to be victims of domestic violence. In the story “Woman Hollering Creek”, Cleofilas dreamed to live a life of luxury in the United States. Instead she was greeted with a husband that could barely support his own family, even after the promise of a happy and healthy lifestyle. In this case, Cleofilas fit the standards of the Office of National Statistics. In a discussion with TED Talks Leslie Morgan Steiner states, “I was also a very typical victim because I knew nothing about domestic violence, its warning signs or its patterns.” Steiner begins to explain that there are three steps an abuser takes. He begins by making his partner feel dominant in the relationship, then by isolating the victim, and finally introducing violence to see their reaction. In the short story, Woman Hollering Creek, Juan Pedro seems to have taken the same exact steps. To begin, Juan Pedro marries Cleofilas and promises her a life of luxury. Next, he convinces Cleofilas to move to an unfamiliar land where Mexicans were seen as inferior to Americans. Lastly, Juan Pedro introduces violence in Cleofilas life by physically abusing her. “The first time she had been so surprised she didn’t cry out or try to defend