Jason and Medea. By John Waterhouse, 1907
The Hungry Woman definitely possesses many of the same elements that we have been looking over and consider to be Chicano Gothic literature. Firstly, it is made clear from the beginnning that Medea is a curandera, as Ultima was, but not like Ultima. By this, I mean that Medea should not be considered a curandera, and instead a witch because it goes back to my belief that the difference between a witch and a curandera is the intent, the motive, that the person holds behind their actions is what defines them as witch or curandera. Medea uses her knowledge of herbs to poison and kill Chac-mool (son) and has been put in a mental asylum for having done so. These actions were not of a curandera, but of a witch seeking out her own selfish desires. I thought it was interesting that Moraga incorported both mythical elements and aspects of La Llorona within the same work, and was able to do so in a very fluent mannner. The story of Medea and Jason is based on the greek mythological characters of Medea (grandaughter of son-god helios) and Jason (son of Aeson; leader of argonauts), in which Jason betrays Medea by leaving her for Glauce, the daughter of Creon (king of Corinth), and Medea responds by murdering their children. I thought it was interesting that in the play, Medea’s grandmother assists her in killing Chac-mool because in Greek Mythology, Medea is the granddaughter of Helios, the sun-god, and though Helios was always portrayed as a male, I thought that Medea’s grandmother was sort of used as another connection to the story of Medea (Greek).
Growing up, I heard many different versions and accounts by family and friends from Mexico relating to La Lllorona, but they all shared the same basic plot of a woman who murdered her children as vengance towards her cheating husband. In this play, however, Moraga manages to add a different element to the story, and that is to modernize the story of La llorona, and make her a revolutionary Chicana lesbian who has been exiled from her home. I thought that it was defintely an interesting take on the story to also have made Medea, in part, cheat on Jason, where in most of the stories it is the husband who solely commits to adultery. Most pieces of La llorona also don’t describe, in detail, how the woman begins to lose her mind, or the events that take place after she kills her child (children in most stories), but in this play, Moraga allows the readers to witness Medea’s life in a psychiatric institution, which I thought was very interesting.
Works Cited:
http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/bates018.html
http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=90
I agree, that there are a number of gothic elements to this play; but I wonder if the other elements, down play the amount of goth the play really has. This play is so complex. There is so much going on. Not that this play is not gothic, but just that other factors overshadow it in some ways. For example the Mythology is prevalent throughout the story, and typically I don’t think of mythology to have gothic characteristics. The background information you shared about the Greek mythology characters of medea are super interesting. That’s something that flew way over my head. I had no idea.
However, though I think the question of gothic elements it is good to toil with, I do still agree that dark gothic elements are very strong in this play. In reading it alone, I pictured the setting to be very dark. In my head, all the scenes were dark with little lighting. I also agree that La Llorona adds a whole other mood of darkness. On top of that, Medea is a in a psychiatric ward and kills her son. Those are such disturbing yet interesting factors to the play. The gothic features are basically impossible to dismiss or be overshadowed. Though the play is very complex, all the different elements seem to have some type of gothic feel to it.
A feminist reading of this is very interesting and insightful. In a literary sense, Medea’s departure from hetero-normative, feminine actions reminds me of Concepcion’s transformation into her male persona at the end of ‘Calligraphy of the Witch’. Both women have been abused and made subservient by men; after these traumas, they abandoned stereotypical female roles and chose an identity outside of traditional ideas of womanhood. I am not suggesting that Medea chose to be a lesbian, but she found a sense of liberation in accepting her sexuality. Unfortunately, this liberation is short lived, for being a lesbian is what gets her kicked out of her home. As she was removed by men for not loving a man, this reinforces her feelings of betrayal associated with the male gender. Therefore, as Melinda said, the psychology behind Chak Mool’s murder is understandable; becoming a male is synonymous with becoming one of her oppressors. Killing him, in her mind, save both his dignity and her own.
The female story line that happens before the play opens is also interesting. According to the author’s notes, females were a large part of the liberation movement predating the separation of the cultures into different states. However, after the revolution, women were again put into subservient roles and the nation reverted to patriarchy. This is not only a regression from the strides in feminism around the revolution, but from the feminist triumph during the Chicano/a Civil right movement denote by the inclusion of “/a”.
The concept of sanity and psychology is definitely one of aspects of all three stories/plays that seems to follow a common thread. Yes, the original two do not go into detail in regards to the slow deteriation of Medea/La Llorona’s sanity, but it is without a doubt still present. For the Greek Medea, it becomes evident in her obsession with revenge on Jason. In the play, the very act of killing her children is seen as the ultimate representation of her lost sanity. Add into the fact that she is not punished, and it insinuates how sanity can never be a reason for blame because it isn something to be pitied. For the person suffering has no control over their actions. In La Llorona the loss of sanity is displayed through depression and death. The fact that she laments over the loss of her children in the afterlife insinuates just how long-lasting this deterioration really is. It makes it seem as if there is no escape from it even in Death.
I’ve just realized that majority of the books that we have read have a strong female character portrayed in a gothic way. Madea is a “witch”, Ultima is a cuarandera, and Concepcion is accused of being a witch. The fact that Madea/La Llorona’s story is incorporated into the novel to create a parallel with the female character is very fascinating. I like how you’ve mentioned that Madea is in fact not a curandera, but a witch because she used her power for evil. I never thought to compare her to Ultima and our discussion of what a curandera and witch are. The Madea/Llorana’s story I think are included for an important reason; these stories can still be tied in with today’s society. In the news we hear about mother’s killing their children because they lose control of their sanity and psychological grip on reality. Many women suffer from postpartum depression and this subject is taboo among many mothers because no mother wants to admit that their children sometimes drive them a little too crazy. The fact that this subject is taboo makes me wonder if it can possible be considered as a gothic element. Perhaps not completely, but it would tie in on how someone can lose their mind and be driven to commit murder. Both Madea and La LLorona are overwhelmed with hate and the feeling of betrayal, which leads them to commit the murders of their loved ones. I can’t think of how making Madea a Chicana lesbian can relate to today’s society, but perhaps it was to capture the attention of the Chicano community too on a taboo subject of women losing their minds. After all, women, especially Latina women, are thought to be emotionally strong and be the back bone of the family.