Feminist critique theory portrays how women were undermined and portrayed as less valuable in society. Several female writers have emerged in society to examine the concept of feminist critique critically. Female writers included the Native Americans, and most emerged from the Chicana movement, which began when women organized to challenge the unequal treatment they received from society. During the historical period, women became tired of being perceived as less significant; therefore, they welcomed the idea of feminism. As a result, women portrayed their emotions through literature and developed the theory of feminism. Cisneros has explored feminist critiques in the text Eyes of Zapata.
The text illustrates the life of a lonely woman who fell in with a boy. The two lovebirds move in together, but with time, the man changes, leaving the woman alone. The feminist critique in this text is how men tend to ignore the existence of women, who stay by their side no matter what. The authors highlight women’s challenges in contemporary society; they strive to show love to ungrateful men. The narrator expresses the emotions she felt when she first met the love of her. At first, their love was strong and real. The man loved her deeply and always appreciated her beauty; ” You used to say I had the prettiest hands of any woman in Cuautla”( Cisneros, 85-86). The narrator fell in love with what she had from the man, and she believed that the love was endless.
The author e highlights the weakness of women, particularly when they are in love—the emotions and the deep intimacy that the narrator explains never fade from her memory. ” I put my nose to your eyelashes” ( pg. 85). The narrator was deep in a romantic relationship that she never imagined would end. Unfortunately, the narrator’s love ignored the deep intimacy that they experienced. The authors portray a displeasure of men’s ignorance. Men should give back the love and attention they receive from women. A romantic relationship should be mutual. Both men and women should express their emotions equally. Naturally, women have weak emotions; and that is why they are more vulnerable than men.
The author highlights the narrator’s vulnerability when she stays awake to watch the man sleeps ” I examine at my leisure your black trousers with silver buttons..”( pg. 85). The narrator admires the man and remembers their romantic relationship; this reveals the less attention the narrator receives from the man. The man seems to have lost interest in the narrator. Women experience challenges in romantic love; they give much attention, love, and care to men who do not recognize them. The much attention that women give, they should also get from men. Their romantic relationship could have blossomed if the man had given attention to the narrator.
The care that women give to society is unconditional. In most cases, women portray a sense of empathy and offer comfort to their loved ones. The author of the text highlights the sense of empathy that women have and goes unnoticed. Despite the ignorance of the narrator’s lover, the narrator still expresses the empathetic feelings she experiences, ” I wish I could rub the grief from you as if it were a smudge on the cheek, I want to gather you up in my arm..” ( pg.87). The narrator feels the pain of her love. She strives to comfort him and take away his pain. Further, she comforts him in his sleep ” Sleep papacito. Its only Ine’s circling above you” ( pg. 87). Casniros exploit the strength of women to handle difficult situations. Women are capable of accommodating pain and helping people recover from their miseries.
The narrator remembers the past romantic affair she shared with her love. The love was no more, and she realized how empty it was. ” We drag these bodies around us; these bodies have nothing to do with you” ( pg.89). The bodies have become meaningless to the two couples. Despite the dead relationship, the narrator still cares about her love. The narrator explains that she has forgiven. The authors explore the optimistic attitude of women. Women will forever show gratitude even if the situation gets worse. The narrator still comforts her love and is willing to talk to him, “Poor thing, you don’t know how to talk” ( pg. 89) . Men usually hide their emotions, but they can get comfort from women.
The authors portray how couples need each other; by expressing their emotions freely. The man felt superior and failed to share his troubles with the narrator, despite the narrator understanding his emotions. In addition, the authors highlight the sacrificial nature of women through the narrator, who falls out with the father because of choosing the man, ” Then he turned around, and I had no father”( pg. 89). The narrator willingly sacrifices her father’s love and choose the man. Nevertheless, the man fails to appreciate the narrator’s sacrifice and stopped loving her and appreciating her sacrifice. He never wanted her to speak about her father, even though he knew she was hurting. ” You don’t like me to talk about my father..” ( pg. 90). The narrator is hurting; she has lost her father’s love and, at the same time, her partner’s love. Nevertheless, she remained strong to handle her broken relationship with her partner.
Similarly, the author exploits toxic masculinity that exists in society through the narrator’s husband and father. The narrator’s father wanted to control her and disputed her because she made her decision to marry the man she loved. Generally, society perceives women as incapable of making wise decisions, just like the narrator’s father disowned her when she moved with her love. Like her mother, the father felt like her daughter had made the wrong decision. ” God keep you, You’ve turned out just like the perra that bore you”( pg.89). The author reveals how men undermine women and perceive them as failures whenever they make an independent decision. The narrator’s father outcasts her daughter because he feels he is a failure, just like her mother.
Despite the narrator’s father disowning her, she cared for him when he was injured. The narrator took care of the father and her son. The family struggled financially, but the narrator was the strongest individual that kept the family strong. ” There was nothing to eat, Tia chucha sick with fever, and me taking care of us all” ( pg. 91). The narrator was strong and was the central will of the family. The authors portray the strength of women to endure pain in difficult circumstances. Women hold a family together despite the tremendous challenges they experience in life.
Also, the text highlights the strength of women when the narrator returns to her father’s house to give birth to her son. ” I could endure my father’s anger, but I was afraid for the child” ( pg93). Women can go through thick and thin to care for their loved ones. The narrator was willing to face her father’s life to protect her unborn child. Moreover, her partner left her alone, pregnant. ” Those months you were gone, hiding out in Puebla because of the protest signature” ( pg. 93). The narrator never gave up on her son even though the father left her. In addition, the text explores men as fearful creatures who cannot face their fears and fight their battles. The narrator’s husband hid and never fought; he was not as brave as his wife, who stayed to care for her sick father and son.
Further, the narrator is demeaning his masculinity by comparing his voice as ” thin and light as woman’s delicate,” and he talks ” sudden, quick, like water leaping” ( pg.106). The man is compared to a woman to highlight his weaknesses. The narrator seems superior to him when she fails to find comfort in his heart ” I wanted to be small and fit inside your heart”( pg. 106). The narrator felt superior to fit inside the man’s heart because of the man’s weaknesses. Moreover, she compares her figure as ” thin” to the diminished masculinity that society believes men have. The authors explore women’s demeaning attitude towards men who have failed to protect their families.
The text thrives on changing the traditional societal perception that women are weak and should be protected by men. Through the narrator, the author reveals the strength of women and the need for gender equality. Women are emerging as stronger than men in society because they can handle difficult situations and provide relevant solutions.
Work Cited
Sandra Cisneros. Eyes of Zapata. (1991)
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