Mexican Women in "Las Amigas"

595 Words3 Pages
In “Las Amigas” from the short story collection The Crystal Frontier by Carlos Fuentes and the chapter “Mexicans: Pioneers of a Different Type” from Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez, one of the ideas that connect these two readings is that of Mexican women especially how they were not thought very highly of in society. Throughout each text, Mexican women were treated poorly, as property and were used to serve a purpose. Mexican women, regardless of their former social status, were either used to marry so American men can obtain their land or used in servitude. In “Las Amigas,” Josefina came from a family that prided themselves in traditions, such as passing down family jewels to their daughters and showing these jewels off on special occasions. Unfortunately, Josefina felt she had no say or other means to get the needed money to help release her husband from prison. She worked as a caretaker and was to serve Miss Amy, who was prejudiced against “Hispanics and Latinos” (Fuentes 2017). Miss Amy treated her poorly by calling her names and purposely putting her in situations where she was accused of wrongdoing. In one instance, Miss Amy says, “Mexicans are supposed to be lazy” (1980). She would also accuse Josefina of losing her husband’s picture. Josefina knew there was something deeper going on for Miss Amy to act this way. Josefina was patient and kind even when she was put in the middle of these situations, keeping her self-respect, even if she was being degraded. Josefina eventually makes Miss Amy see that everyone is the same, has the same feelings, needs, and desires. She lets Miss Amy know that love has no boundaries. This is shown when she stands by her man in good times and bad. She said “she was going to continue fighting, that when she chose Luis Maria that it was forever and for everything, the good and the bad.” (2233) This proves that the Mexican women,
Open Document