Week 2 – De La Parra’s “Mama Blanca’s Memoirs”

As someone who rarely reads literature, I had a great time reading Mama Blanca's memoirs. The variety of themes covered in this book were thought-provoking.

 
While the story is set in 20th-century Venezuela, the discussion and portrayal of women's struggles and patriarchy in the novel are themes that could apply to almost all societies at the time. The fight and want for autonomy and free expression for women was evident through quotes like “I was a woman, and I wanted to be happy, to live my life as I pleased” and “I was a woman, and I wanted to be myself."

The struggles associated with motherhood were another profound theme discussed in the novel and one that is just as relevant today as well. The struggles and compromises associated with motherhood are often neglected; we don’t always acknowledge the ongoing battle of a mother’s own needs vs her children’s needs that exists even today, although to a much less severity than in the 19th/20th century.

Another related theme that struck me quite a bit was class and privilege. The idea that while her being well-off may have brought her more material comfort, the same privilege added more constraints for her. The very fact that she was forced to marry a rich man at a young age reflected the sad reality faced by many at the time. Her social class only exacerbated the pressure associated with being a “good mother” faced by Mama Blanca. I found it deeply moving when she says in chapter 2: “I was the daughter of one of the most distinguished families in Caracas, and I was the mother of two children born in wedlock. I had to be a model, a shining example of virtue, and I had to raise my children in a way that would uphold the reputation of my family."

 
This same theme of class and privilege also helped shine a light on the existence of social hierarchies and class structures in 19th/20th century Venezuela. I found it quite interesting to read about this as growing up in India, I read about the existence of class structures in India until the British left; so, it was interesting to draw parallels between the two.

On a side note, in terms of style, I loved how we could "read" Mama Blanca's mind throughout the novel to truly understand what she was feeling, etc. Overall, I had a great time reading about Mama Blanca’s “strong” personality as someone who wasn’t afraid to share her thoughts and challenge societal norms.