I read the article Looking for the Insatiable Woman, which was posted on the blog. I found it to be very interesting because the reader gets to be inside the author Cherrie Moraga’s head a bit. She talks about the importance of stories and valuing a true story teller. She indeed tried to mix Greek Euripedes drama of Medea, la Llorana story, and the Aztec story of “The Hungry Woman”. She ultimately wanted to try to find the strength behind la Llorona. Her hope is to find a true story of this woman, and thinks it is a never-ending, but well-lived life journey. I think it has a lot do with feminism, especially when Moraga brought out the point that la Llorona has to have a better reason for killing her own children other than because of a man’s betrayal. The author emphasizes that the woman is searching for her lost children , “mis hijas perdidas”. I think Moraga believes la Llorona is speaking to all women. All women are sisters, daughters, mothers. All women have “our lost sexuality, our lost spirituality, our lost sabiduría [wisdom]”. The author’s last words in this article claims to be able to free women, if only just a little, by getting to the point of la Llorona’s story. I am left with a feeling of awe and support of Cherrie Moraga. I have enjoyed reading the book so far and absolutely appreciate her thoughts behind the writing of this play.
I agree, this was a very informative and intriguing article. As a woman, a lesbian, and of Mexican descent, she related to La Llorona. She saw not only herself, but the cultural ties to the current treatment and beliefs of womanhood. Moraga writes, “But as the daughter of a thoroughly Mexican mother, I did know about women being punished for the rest of their lives for some sin that happened somewhere in our collective history. “Eres mujer.” [“You are a woman”] That’s all we need to know. That’s the crime we feministas are still solving.” I found that line to be powerful. Woman have been vilified and demonized. Such cases in Mexican culture include La Llorona and La Malinche. I appreciate how Moraga looks further and sees the whole being of La Llorona, not just a woman who killed her children, but someone who must have had a deeper reason for doing so.