That's not an isolated incident either. The way that Lola describes her treatment at the hands of her mother is nothing less than horrifying. One of my favorite moments in the book is when Lola smacks her mother's hand away and makes a stand for herself. Her act of burning the wig screams "NO MORE!" and I love it. Like I said, with what we learn later the mother is a much more sympathetic character, but at this point, what a puta.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Madre del Diablo
Oscar's mother comes off as psychotic in this first section of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. There's no denying this. She tries to impress the woman's view of the Dominican hyper-masculinity on her son and fails. The first bit we see of it is when Oscar is eight and she tell him to bitch-slap the girl (Diaz 14). Who is also eight years old. That suggests either some deep pathology or a seriously messed up worldview. Now we find out later that some very bad things have happened to her earlier in life, and along with a culture centered on the agressive male it's understandable, but that's still messed up to teach a kid something like that at eight.
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Usually, when parents enact such seemingly radical beliefs and values upon their children, there is not a consciousness of severity. Because Oscar's mother has had such a rough past, she finds that kind of behavior totally acceptable. As for locating blame, it looks as if her behaviors are due to a long line of patriarchal oppression. It is hard not indict her for her immediate behavior because it is so frustrating, but traumatic events can stay with a person...
ReplyDeleteI don't think she should have had children at all. Even after knowing what happened to her when she was young, I strongly feel that she should not have been allowed to raise children. I think she wins the award for worst mother we've read this semester.
ReplyDeleteI was really happy with Lola too when she slapped her mothers hand! It was horray moment when you see someone do something that you've been waiting for them to finally do and you have to cheer them on. I agree with Stephanie that someone who should have been more careful to not get pregnant because she doesn't have the compassion a mother needs to have to raise a child.
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