In the book So Far From God (1993), written by author Ana Castillo, we capture a story about a Chicano/a family that takes place in Tome, New Mexico. “Sofia, …a wife and mother of four girls, single handedly ran the Carne Buena Carneceria she inherited from her parents, managed all the finances, and ran the house on her own to boot” (28). Although Domingo, her children’s father, left her due to gambling issues, Sofia manages to weather the storm by taking on the role of a father and mother. As the matriarch of la familia, she constantly puts the needs of her daughter’s before her own. Although Sofia teaches her daughters to be strong independent Chicanas, each of them, except for La Loca, pursue male dominating relationships that fail due to partners who cheat and/or have commitment issues.
As a result of Esperanza, Caridad, and Fe’s failed relationships, each of them struggle to make sense of life without a male at the center of their world. In an attempt to make sense of their failed relationships, each of the girls embarks on different paths in life to fill the void of not having a man in their life. In the midst of Sofia trying to deal with her daughter’s failed relationships, Domingo, her long lost husband, pops back into their life. While he is good for nothing, Sofia allows him to come back home, as “her heart did not allow her to just put him out on the streets” (218).
In the end, Sofia’s “Domingo” tries to stiff her out of her property inheritance, but she fights to keep it, even at the expense of having to rent it back from one of the towns powerful attorneys. Also, her four daughters all die in tragic deaths. Esperanza, the contemporary educated Chicana, who is a newscaster/journalist, dies while away at war covering a story. Caridad jumps off a cliff with her lover Esmeralda to escape the heterosexism due to her sexuality. Fe develops cancer from toxic waste chemicals that she was exposed to while working in Corporate America, and eventually dies. And, La Loca, the youngest daughter, who died when she was three and resurrected from death, eventually dies of Aids. Despite these painful circumstances, Sofia never loses sight of her commitment as Leader/Mayor of Tome. Sofia, the non-traditional Chicana, a strong woman, uses her painful experiences as motivation to address the social, economic, and political inequalities, which persist in Tome, New Mexico. She continues to be extremely committed to improving the socioeconomic conditions of the people in her community. Eventually she becomes the Founder and President of M.O.M.A.S.-(Mother’s of Martyrs and Saints). Through this safe space, she builds a bridge to connect mothers in the community who form a sense of belonging to remember their children who have died at the hands of underlying factors associated with our heteropatriarchal/capitalistic society.
Questions:
What are some of the themes that Castillo exposes the reader to in her book?
How does Castillo present the male characters in the book?
Does Castillo reveal intersecting exploitive relationships in her book???? What are some of the micro/macro level of exploitive relationships she reveals? (class, gender, race, sexuality etc.)
At the core, would you say that Castillo wants to expose the reader to the heavy persistence of patriarchy and capitalism in our society and how people turn to their families and communities as a means of survival?
Castillo most definitely wants to expose the reader to the heavy persistence of patriarchy and capitalism in our society. She does so by treating the father/husband as a gambler who ends up abandoning his family, leaving the mother/wife to financially support her children. Castillo seems to be a feminist who wants to steer away from patriarchy and the nuclear family. For this reason, she ended up writing a women family into her text.
One of the themes that Castillo brings up is patriarchy. This theme is brought up throughout the book in different situations. The daughters try and fight against patriarchy by living lives that don’t revolve around a male. Another theme that Castillo brings up is the creation of a queer identity. The book deals with queer identity when it focuses on the relationship of Caridad. Caridad gets into a relationship with Esmeralda and gets critiqued for her sexuality. She has to try and create an identity that goes against heterosexuality. I believe that through her book Castillo is trying to expose everyone to the negatives that come with patriarchy and capitalism. The negative things that happened to the daughters all had to do with patriarchy or capitalism. I think her book also shows just how important the community can be for families who are going through tough times.
I believe that Patriarchy is the most noticeable theme that was shown in this book. The characters of these stories struggle, because non seem to follow the “Norm” of Patriarchy. They struggle to break the chains of patriarchy, but they are able to show that living under the command of men is possible. Women do not to put up with anything they don’t want to put up with. Another theme that was exposed was identities. These Chicana identities vary not one is like the other, yet they are all victims of the culture they grew into.