| Julia Alverez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents shows intercultural ideas of feminism through the eyes and actions of several women. Other feminist literature, such as Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse or Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God focus on just a few women in order to get its perspective. Alverez's work, on the other hand, has four main female characters - the four Garcia sisters; additionally the girls' mother and their many female aunts and cousins are also instrumental in lending perspective. By including so many female characters, Alverez is able to create a thicker, more rich vision of feminist ideas. Sofia, the youngest sister, acts defiant of the patriarchy's rules by getting pregnant even though her father would never have approved. But, she also seems more dependent on male support than the other girls. Sandi, by contrast, is a stated feminist in idea and ideal. This mix of influences in interesting as we see Yolanda with her boyfriend Rudy. Rudy wants to have sex but Yolanda resists, much to his frustration. He says to her, as his version of pillow talk, "'I thought you'd be hot-blooded, being Spanish and all, and that under all the Catholic bullshit, you'd be really free, instead of all hung up like these cotillion chicks from prep schools. But Jesus, you're worse than a fucking Puritan'" (Alverez, p. 99). The source or reason of Yolanda's resistance is unclear. She certainly shows the confusing mix of influences with which she deals. "I would never find someone who would understand my peculiar mix of Catholicism and agnosticism, Hispanic and American styles. Had I been raised with the traditionof stuffed animals, I would have hugged my bear or stuffed dog...Instead, I did something that even as a lapsed Catholic I still did for good luck on nights before exams. I opened my drawer and took out the crucifix I kept hidden under my clothes, and put it under my pillow for the night" (Alverez, p. 99-100). In on way, she is avoiding male oppression by not letting herself be coerced into sexual activities she does not want to take part in. But, in another way it is unclear whether she is doing this out of a decision she has made for herself because of values she holds dear, or if she is doing it simply out of fear or rote habit enforced by the relatively oppressive patriarchy of her father. The reverse chronology of the novel is a very interesting tool. We are shown at the beginning of the story the product of the family's actions and influences. As we then go through the novel we see how the girls end up as they did. In the first chapter, titled "Antojos" - used in America by Spanish restaurants to mean appetizers, translates here into "whims" - shows Yolanda having gone back to the family's old country, the Dominican Republic. She is on her own acting as a lady is not supposed to act, but she is ok with that. She does, however, encounter scary times and trouble but it turns out alright. In the second chapter, centered on Sofia - the sister that is thought to be the most promiscuous - we see how the girls' father is still uncomfortable with things that the girls themselves have grown used to and comfortable with. His anger at the end of this chapter shows his resistance to the cultural changes which he himself has brough upon his girls by bringing them to the United States. Overall, Alverez seems to make the statement that American culture is more supportive for women, more likely to foster feminist ideals and values. All of the women that still live in the old country are more accepting of patriarchal rules of domestication. The sisters though, who have spent the most time in the United States, are also the most liberal and least likely to be submissive to what could be called "the feminine mystique." Alverez thereby seems to indicate that the Americanization of immigrated women could help them with their own independence, but also indicates - as we see when Yolanda clutches her crucifix - should take comfort from old world traditions and values. Return to Writing Ryan's Feminsim page Return to Writing Ryan's page of Reviews Return to Writing Ryan's main page |
| A Small Review of Julia Alverez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Ryan Cofrancesco |