Not long ago, Maya Angelou’s words in Phenomenal Woman described the quintessential perspective I was looking for in my journey towards defining the feminist view in a literature class with a strong female theme.   “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.  I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size but when I start to tell them, they think I’m telling lies.  I say.  It’s in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips.  I’m a woman phenomenally.  Phenomenal woman, that’s me.”  This poem merely scratched the surface on the voyage I was about to embark on into the collective women’s soul; a soul that is a delicate balance of culture, family roots, sense of self, body image, and intellectual and academic achievement.

                In 19 Varieties of a Gazelle, by Naomi Shihab Nye, I got my first glimpse of how strongly culture can define a woman’s sense of self and family connection.   I began by reflecting on the complicated history that connects 9/11 to her heritage.  Nye says, “For people who love the Middle East and have an ongoing devotion to cross-cultural understanding, the day felt sickeningly tragic in more ways than one.  A huge shadow had been cast across the lives of so many innocent people and an ancient culture’s pride.” (pg xv.)  For Nye, everything she had known her entire life stemmed from her father’s love for the Palestinian culture.  In ten minutes on a cold September morning, her entire identity was taken from her and replaced with violence, stereotyping and judgment.  Her struggle to regain that identity is a defining point in her life, and made her into the educated and opinionated woman that she is today.

                In Push by Sapphire, the ideal woman changes form.  Precious Jones does not struggle to spread her family’s ideals and morals, instead she struggles to become literate, and remove herself from the sexual and physical violence she has been subjected to or most of her life.  With Precious, being a woman is being able to identify yourself as a mother, a student, a face with a name--not just another D.S.S. case number.  Education is what defines Precious’ soul.  “Open your notebook Precious.”  “I’m tired,” I says.  “I know you are but you can’t stop now Precious, you gotta push.”  “And I do.”  Although precious finds herself through her educational opportunities, she still had to come to terms with the events in her life, and toxic relationships that she was a part of.  Precious Jones defied the odds and pushed towards a better life for her and her children, while maturing into the woman that no one ever thought she could be.

                By exploring Nye and Sapphires works, I allowed myself to begin to delve deeper into my own thoughts on what being a woman meant.  In Precious’ case, it was the idea of breaking the cycle of abuse.  This idea is one that begins an in-depth discussion of the effort and strength it takes to heal from trauma resulting from horrific mental, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and whether or not you can really ever lose that identity and take on a new one.  In Nye’s vision towards womanhood, it was the fear of losing her Palestinian heritage, that started her on a motivated journey into her own feminist discoveries.  My view on the “feminist ideal” has changed, and I wonder if it was ever relevant for this class anyway.  Instead of using politically correct terms, I would rather embrace the knowledge that I have gained from hearing these stories, biographical or not.  

The Shawl

                Motherhood plays an important role in The Shawl, by Cynthia Ozick.  Woven throughout the story is the reoccurring theme of Rosa’s identity, found within the unbreakable bond that is formed between mother and child.  Rosa’s defines her “present life” as her time spent in Jewish ghettos, being marched to and housed in various concentration camps, and most importantly her time spent nurturing her young child Magda, under extremely harsh circumstances.  “Rosa gave almost all her food to Magda, Stella gave nothing; Stella was ravenous, a growing child herself.  Stella did not menstruate.  Rosa did not menstruate.  Rosa was ravenous, but also not: she learned from Magda how to drink the taste of a finger in one’s mouth.”(pg 5)  Rosa’s literary role as a mother is like that of any other, she finds herself sacrificing everything to provide for her child.  She strives to give nourishment where none can be found, tries to protect her daily from being seen by the S.S. soldiers who will take her life, and vows to create a life for her outside of the camp when the war is over.  Sadly, Rosa is unable to make the ultimate sacrifice for her child, giving her own life, which haunts her for the next forty years.  Over time, Rosa is not able to move on from the death of her beloved daughter.  Instead, she continues to live a life of pain, masked by lengthy letters creating an imaginary life her daughter never lived.  “Rosa wanted to explain to Magda still more about the jugs and the drawings on the walls, and the old things in the store, things that nobody cared about, broken chairs with carved birds, long strings of glass beads, gloves and wormy muffs abandoned in drawers.” (pg 69)  Although Rosas survival did not depend on the physical existence of Magda, the emotional and mental relationship she kept sustained her mother-like role for the remainder of her life.

When the Emperor Was Divine

                When the Emperor Was Divine, by Julie Otsuka, begins by painting a vivid picture of life in America circa 1940 for the average Japanese-American family.  However, as the reader delves deeper, it is apparent that what is happening to this family is not average at all, but instead a tragic symbol of the actions of a racist and paranoid government, in a post Pearl Harbor world.

                Though all the characters introduced at the beginning of the novel (Mother, Brother, and Sister) hold much importance to the theme of strength and loss of humanity, the Mother best reflects the entire emotional journey one would take when losing their identity and becoming prisoner of a government who claims they have your best interest at hand, yet deny you of any and all civil rights earned as a citizen of the United States of America.

In order to express the range of emotion the mother is going through, Otsuka uses the first chapter to allow the mother time to reflect on what was happening, while displaying the immense reaction she was having to the thought of the unknown future of her husband and children.   “The bird spread his wings and flew off into the night.  She went back inside the kitchen and took out a bottle of plum wine from beneath the sink.  Without the bird in the cage, the house felt empty.  She sat down on the floor and put the bottle to her lips.” (pg. 48) Mother would not let the unidentified inevitable negate her responsibility to her children, and eventually her husband.  Instead she carries on, deciding to let the future come to her.

What’s In a Name?

                Push , by Sapphire, tells the horrific tale of Precious Jones, a victim of incest, horrific physical, sexual, and emotional violence who eventually gives birth to two of her father’s children, while searching for a destiny that breaks the vicious cycle of abuse that has left her poverty stricken, homeless and illiterate. 

                Language and emotion play a pivotal role in Precious’s interpretation of the experiences she has had in her life.  Through the intentional lack of structure, grammar, and other basic literary rules, Sapphire allows the reader to become a part of Precious’s innermost thoughts, fears, and regrets. 

“I left back when I was twelve because I had a baby for my fahver.  That was in 1983.  I was out of school for a year.  This be my second baby.  My daughter got Down Sinder.  She’s retarded.  I had got left back in the second grade too, when I was seven, “cause I couldn’t read (and I still peed on myself).”(pg.4) 

Emotion is another device that Sapphire uses to piece together the memories of cruelty that Precious went through, and hope for the life that she aspires to have, especially regarding her education.   Sapphire allows Precious to communicate her feelings in a variety of ways, for example in her journal.  Here we see the moving voyage Precious takes as she begins the painful process of recalling memories that have been suppressed, all while beginning her expedition into literacy.

 “Ms. Rain say more now, much more.  She wan more from me.  More than 15 minutes an she write back.  Say walk wif it.  The journal?  I say.  Yeah, she says, Walk wif da journl.  Everywhere you go, journl journal go.  You know I go walk with Abdul etc., take journal, write stuff in journal.”(pg.98) 

Precious Jones overcame extraordinary odds and allowed her innate motivation to lead her to a better life for her and her children.  Although she can be seen as a compilation of many of the travesties reported to state agencies all over the country, Precious Jones is a survivor.

Patria’s Timeline

1938:  Goes away to convent

1940:  Decides she wants to be a nun

Falls in love with Pedrito and gets married.

Has two successful pregnancies, but loses her third baby.

Patria begins to lose faith in God and her marriage.

Patria goes on pilgrimage which leads to the Virgin Mary speaking to her.

Patria regains her faith and strengthens her marriage to Pedrito.

1959:  Patria decides to join her sisters in the resistance.  She also discovers she is pregnant, and learns how strongly Pedrito is against the underground forces.

Jan-March 1960:  Patria’s son, sisters, and other close family members are arrested by Trujillo.

Patria forms a relationship with her half sister Margarita who allows care packages to be delivered to her ailing sisters in jail.

Nelson, her son, gets pardoned after Patria fights for his release.

Fall 1960:  Patria’s husband gives her permission to visit her brother-in-laws in prison.

November 1960:  Patria, Minerva and Mate, along with their driver Rufino are murdered upon their return from the prison.

Let Freedom Ring

                Throughout In The Time of Butterflies, the idea of freedom, by way of rebelling against the government, is a central theme and fuels many of the characters to fulfill their own personal destinies.  The oldest sister, Patria, is a good example of a character whose freedom not only lies in the end of her government’s oppression, but is also intertwined in her complicated marriage and strong religious beliefs.   

                Patria’s religious beliefs influenced every part of her life, including her decision to ultimately join the resistance, and how she dealt with the untimely arrest of members of her family, including her own son.  “My crown of thorns was woven of thoughts for my boy.  His body I had talcumed, fed, bathed.  His body now broken as if it were no more than a bag of bones…Together Dede and I would pray a rosary.  Afterwards we played our old childhood game, opening the Bible and teasing a fortune out of whatever verse our hands landed on.”(pg. 201) 

                 Through Patria’s relationship with God, she was shielded from the horrific acts that were being committed by her government, and at times denied that such terror could be bestowed on her country by a God that she sometimes feared, but loved so much.   Through personal loss however, Patria discovered that her God might not be leading her down the path that she believed was meant for her.  “I wondered if the dead child were not a punishment for my having turned my back on my religious calling?  I went over and over my life to this point, complicating the threads with my fingers, knotting everything.”(pg. 52)

                Patria’s ultimate fate lay in the hands of the persons who murdered her for standing up for what she believed in.   I do believe, however, that she was granted a great justice in Julia Alvarez’s interpretation of her life.  The ability to choose her freedom.

Life Education

                I Am An Emotional Creature presents an intriguing perspective on the journey that adolescent girls from all around the world take towards ultimately becoming a woman in adulthood.  Eve Ensler uses this literary platform to describe the various paths young girls travel from assorted and often diverse points of view that might otherwise never be told.  Ensler uses the epilogue as her chance to convey the ideals that she believes to be an integral part of becoming a well rounded female young adult in today’s society.  For example, in “Manifesta to Young Women and Girls” she begins by describing the roles that one’s culture may place on them:  “Find a man, seek protection, the world is scary.  Don’t go out, you are weak, don’t care so much…Don’t cry so much, and you can’t trust anyone.” (pg. 83)  Ensler then goes on to put forth her ideas, such as “Everyone’s making everything up.  There is no one in charge except for those who pretend to be.  No one is coming.  No one is going to rescue you.” (pg. 91)  There is a noticeable difference between what is being placed on girls, and what Ensler wants them to take away from the experience of reading her book.  The missing link between these two significant messages is how to get the areas to come together in a comprehensive manner that young girls can relate to.  Perhaps transforming the meaning of the pieces into a more expanded piece of writing might make them seem more real to girls from all different places on the globe.  Presenting these ideas in a way that is closer to the realities and environments that these girls spend their lives in might allow them to learn from others mistakes and shape their own futures away from the constraints of society.