Across A Hundred Mountains Analysis

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A Women’s Place In the book, Across a Hundred Mountains, Reyna Grande explores many different types of relationships. Some of the relationships she explores are, romantic relationships, family relationships, and one person taking advantage of another. I found the romantic relationships the most intriguing. I think it was particularly interesting how the author portrayed Lupe and Miguel, and Dona Matilida and Don Elias as almost polar opposites of each other. However, even doing that, Grande still showed where the women’s place was thought to be in that time. The dynamic between Lupe and Miguel, Juana’s parents, is the typical, loving two-parent home that we, as Americans, identify with. Miguel goes to work every day to earn a living…show more content…
Don Elias didn’t go out and make an honest living. He was only respected by the people around him because they feared him. Dona Matilida was not seen as an equal partner in the relationship. She was more of a servant to Don Elias. I believe that when they first got married there was some kind of love in their relationship, but when they realized they could not conceive a child Don Elias blamed his wife. Even though it was most likely he was the infertile one, he treated her as if all she was good for was to take care of him like a maid. This is what made her a hard, bitter old woman. Dona Matilida believes it was her fault, and feels guilty about not being able to provide him with a child he so greatly desired. This caused her to turn a blind eye to what he was doing around town with other women. When Lupe gave Don Elias what Don Matilida couldn’t, she hated and resented Lupe and Juana even more because it was like a slap in the face. There was no Love in Don Elias and Dona Matilida’s marriage. Lupe and Miguel’s relationship is wonderful and picture perfect in the beginning of the book. Actually, it is always good. Ama just lost her mind after the horrible things she had gone through. The relationship between Dona Matilida and Don Elias seemed horrific in the beginning of the story, but it changed after she went and stole Lupe’s son. When she was able to raise a child
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