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Francesco Masala-Martínez

04/29/2015

Female Archetypes in Papeles de Pandora:Revenge of the Woman Writer in a Claustrophobic Puerto Rico

Rosario Ferré is a Puerto Rican writer, novelist, essayist and

poet born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1938. She has been considered

a model for the late 19th century's female writers, especially

after her first collection of short stories Papeles de Pandora in 1976.

As Umpierre1 states in her review, the aim of Ferré's book is to

question the male literary canon, which usually pushes female

writers to other genres (the poetic, in particular) to express

their artistic vision. Moreover, another goal lies in showing how

being a woman does not imply not being able to occupy a place

previously considered only for male writers.

The aim of this essay will be to ascertain two main purposes:

on the one hand, to show how Ferré distrusts the male literary

canon which underestimates women writers' capabilities and, on the

other, to reflect how these women can be considered “creators” in

a patriarchal society that suffocates their ambitions. According

1 Umpierre, Luz Maria. “Un manifiesto literario: Papeles de Pandora de Rosario Ferré.” Bilingual Review 2 May-Aug. 1982: 120-126. Print.

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to Ferré, women writers need to distance themselves from the

traditional subjects like love and erotism and push themselves

toward a “freedom of the woman,” since she has always been labeled

as a supporting character and never as a leader, especially during

the 1970s in the Caribbean. Mainly, this is because of her

father's important role. He was Governor of Puerto Rico from 1969

to 1973 and she felt very conflicted after becoming First Lady due

to her mother's death and never completely agreeing with her

father's political ideology.

I will look at two specific stories such as The Youngest Doll and

When Women Love Men to display the different female archetypes used

by Ferré in her book, focusing on the witch, and the hysteric,

whose roles reflect the conflicts previously mentioned, between

the patriarchal power and women writers marginalization as

“unauthorized” individuals. My goal is to propose a more specific

interpretation of both short stories included in her novel,

focusing on the female characters. Besides, I will also focus on

the different Puerto Rican social classes and how they constantly

have been differentiated in front of a dominant bourgeois power

and a forced submission of the lower classes which has always been

a common factor in the Caribbean, especially in Puerto Rico.

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Key words: Rosario Ferré, archetypes, masculinity, female

repression, women writers

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A diachronic reading of Rosario Ferré's novel shows a steady

and growing worry for Puerto Rico and for the drastic changes that

affected the country under a socio-political and economical point

of view since 1898, the year in which Spain decided to cede its

control of the island to the United States. This is evident in

essays such as La cocina de la escritura2 and On Love and Politics3 in which

Ferré talks about a world in crisis where she defines the

prototypical “dependency and fragmentation” of the Puerto Rican

condition. It became an almost obsessive focus on Ferré's novels

but we see equal interest in other authors and intellectuals of

her generation such as Magali García Ramis, Carmen Lugo Filipi,

Mayra Montero and Ana Lydia Vega. The difference shown by Ferré

implies her extended interpretation of the Puerto Rican's reality.

Through this idea, the author urges the presence of the woman in

the Puerto Rican historical process.

In Sitios a Eros (1980), for example, Ferré examines the problem

of the woman writer, especially the attitude of the European

woman, such as of Simone de Beauvoir and Virgina Woolf: “En su

opinión [de Simone de Beauvoir], la mujer debería ser constructiva

2 Ferré, Rosario. “La cocina de la escritura.” Sitio a Eros. México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1980. 13-33. Print.

3 Ferré, Rosario. “On Love and Politics.” Review: Latin American Literature and Arts 37 1987: 8-9. Print.

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en su literatura, pero no constructiva de realidades exteriores,

principalmente históricas y sociales.”4 And also: “Para Virginia

[Woolf], evidentemente, la literatura femenina no debería de ser

jamás destructiva o iracunda, sino tan armoniosa y translúcida

como la suya propia.”5 Her analysis is centered in a dialectical

method of the woman writer who displays her frustrations in a

community where not only is she unfree but also metaphorically

silenced by her social environment.

The woman described by Ferré lives in a “claustrophobic”

Puerto Rico where she is allowed to live, but only as secondary

member of her society. Her community is dominated by a patriarchal

society which does not consent to women expressing themselves. For

this reason, Ferré decides to reclaim what she considers a right

for every woman6 and she accomplishes her goal by doing what she

can do best: writing.

In Papeles de Pandora7 (1976), readers can perceive two subjects

which are really important for the author: politics and women.

4 “In her opinion [Simone de Beauvoir], the woman had to be constructive in herliterature, but not of exterior realities, mainly historical and social.” [personal translation]

5 “For Virginia [Woolf], clearly, female literature should not be destructive or irascible, it should be harmonious and transparent like her own.” [personal translation]

6 Amarilis Cottó, Ruth. La mujer puertorriqueña en su contexto literario y social. Madrid: Verbum, 2002. Print.

7 Ferré, Rosario. Papeles de Pandora. Mexico: Joaquín Mortiz, 1976. Print. [Each citation mentioned in this essay comes from this edition]

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Ferré wants to give a vision of the cultural system dominated by

patriarchal values which, subsequently, suffer from the

colonization of foreign and alienating values. Obviously,

according to the main idea that Puerto Ricans had about women

writers of that country, this invasive attitude of patriarchal

conflicts and colonization has not always brought Ferré acclaim

from the public. In fact, the writer stated during an interview

that García Pinto added in her book Historias íntimas: conversaciones con

diez escritoras latinoamericanas, that the first number of Ferré's co-

edited magazine Zona de carga y descarga, was burned in the backyard of

some houses in Puerto Rico. Additionally, her presence in

newspapers has never been considered positive by her family, which

has always been influent, even though only in the political

environment. This public reaction is a clear exponent of the

difficulties that women writers-to-be have suffered historically.

According to this point, Ferré also declares in her essays:

La mujer con vocación literaria no llegará hoy acaso a

[los extremos históricos citados por Virginia Woolf]

pero sigue estando muy lejos de tener una suerte

tranquila: su vida se vuelve una vorágine de conflictos que

intentan destrozarla en la medida en que persiste en

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realizar la voz de su corazón, o sea, su vocación.8

These adversities are recapitulated in Latin America with other

women such as Alfonsina Storni, Juana de Ibarborou, Julia de

Burgos, and also the very important story of Sor Juana Inés de la

Cruz. However, Ferré's situation is unique: she comes from a

wealthy and influential family from Ponce, Puerto Rico, which has

played an important role in the island and its society.

It is important to mention that her father, Luis Ferré, was

the founder of Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party)

in Puerto Rico and also governor from 1968 to 1972.9 Thus, Rosario

Ferré's ideology is expressed by the center of the power (because

of the important role of her father) and it often caused her a

strong ambivalence. What we perceive as readers is that she

considers her country as an “exploiter” but also based on a series

of values and an own “identidad” (identity). Ferré especially

focuses on

la pérdida de ciertos valores [como] el abandono de la

tierra; el olvido de un código de comportamiento

8 “The woman with a literary vocation probably won't go to [the historical extremes cited by Virginia Woolf] but her lot is still anything but easy. Herlife has become a vortex of conflicting forces trying to destroy her to the extent that she persists in fulfilling her inner voice, that is, her literaryvocation” (Meyer, Doris. Rereading the Spanish American Essay: Translations of 19th and 20th Century Women's Essays. Trans. Joy Renjilian-Burgy. Austin: U Texas Press, 1995. Print.)

9 “Luis A. Ferré.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

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patriarcal, basado en la explotación, pero también a veces en

ciertos principios de ética y de caridad cristiana sustituidos por

un nuevo código mercantil y utilitario que nos llegó del

norte...10 (La cocina de la escritura 41)

From her central position performed within her society, she always

thought she was “betraying” her country, especially during the

establishment of the Commonwealth and its consequences. In fact,

in the years after World War II, social, political and economical

changes began to take place that have continued to shape the

island's character today. The late 1940s brought the beginning of

a major migration to the continental United States, mainly to New

York City. The main reasons for this were an undesirable economic

situation brought by the Great Depression, as well as a

recruitment by the U.S. armed forces for personnel and U.S.

companies for workers. In 1946 President Truman appointed Resident

Commissioner Jesús T. Piñero to serve as island governor; he was

the first Puerto Rican appointed to that position. On June 10,

1948, Piñero signed the infamous “Ley de la Mordaza” (Gag Law).

Law 53, as it was officially known, was passed by the Puerto Rican

legislature presided by Luis Muñoz Marín on May 21, 1948. The Law 10 “The loss of some values... [like] for example the abandonment of the land;

the forget of a patriarchal behavior code, based on exploitation, but also, sometimes, some ethical principles and Christian charity substituted by a newcommercial and useful code come from the North...” [Personal translation]

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made it illegal to display the Puerto Rican flag, sing a patriotic

song, talk about independence or to fight for the liberation of

the island11.

These conflicts between the patriarchal power and her

marginalization as an “undermined” woman are expressed by Rosario

Ferré through different female archetypes in her novel Papeles de

Pandora. Some examples are the doll, the witch, the doppelgänger,

and the hysteric. In this essay, I would like to focus on the

witch and the hysteric because I consider them the perfect models

to fully understand the society described and criticized by Ferré.

On the one hand, in The Youngest Doll, Ferré presents a magical

act carried out by the main character to finally end a prolonged

subjugation. A maiden aunt never marries because a river prawn

bites her calf and, due to minimal (and intentional) treatments by

her physician, nestles there to grow. She devotes her life to her

nine nieces, making life-sized dolls for them on their birthdays

and wedding days. When only the youngest niece is left at home,

the doctor comes to see his patient and brings his son, also a

physician. When the son realizes the father could have cured the

leg, the doctor just says, “but I just wanted you to come and see

11 “Puerto Rican Commonwealth.” Puerto Rico Report. Haden Interactive, 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

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the prawn that has been paying for your education these twenty

years.”12 The young doctor becomes the aunt's physician and ends up

marrying the youngest niece, taking her and her wedding doll to

live in a house like a cement block, requiring his wife to sit on

the porch so passersby could see he was married into society. At

some point, like his father did for many years with her patient,

the young doctor decides to deprive his wife of her dowry, selling

the doll's diamond-eardrop eyes. The doctor grows older, but his

wife keeps the porcelained skin she has always had. Curious about

her wife's health, he places the stethoscope over her chest and

notices her heart is not beating.

In the first section, we can observe a clear abuse of

hierarchical power in which a male doctor takes advantage of the

innocence and goodness of her patient, a member of the extinct

sugarcane aristocracy. His behavior can easily be considered

brutal and ruthless: the doctor is not minimally concerned about

the financial situation of the woman and steals money from the

aunt to improve his finances and assure a favorable future to his

son. This is an important point that Ferré has described in other

stories (such as Mercedes Benz 220 SL), in which she states her worry

12 Ferré, Rosario. Papeles de Pandora. Mexico: Joaquín Mortiz, 1976. Page 4. Print.

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and critique toward a society completely divided: on one side,

there is a wealthy society that keeps upgrading its own status

but, on the other, we face a poor class which is only exploited by

the aristocracy. The situation in The Youngest Doll is slight

different but we can still perceive a similar circumstance,

especially at the beginning, where the author writes: “In those

days, the family was nearly ruined; they lived surrounded by a

past that was breaking up around them with the same impassive

musicality with which the crystal chandelier crumbled on the

frayed embroidered linen cloth of the dining-room table.”13

Another useful point used by the author to confirm her scorn

can be found in the second section when the young doctor becomes

the youngest niece's husband. What Ferré wants to point out is the

same level of immaturity and material attachment (“Each day made

his wife sit out on the balcony, so that passerby would be sure to

see that he has married into society”14) that Puerto Rican men have

always gotten, according to the author. Appearance becomes more

important than emotions and it can drag toward even more negative

aspects such as theft, betrayal, and apathy.

The third and final part of the story helps to clarify the

13 Ibid. Page 2.14 Ibid. Page 5.

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mentioned points by focusing on the behavior of the doctor's son:

“One day, he pried out the doll's eyes with the tip of his scalpel

and pawned them for a fancy gold pocket watch with a long,

embossed chain.”15 And also, “As the years passed the doctor became

a millionaire. He had slowly acquired the whole town as his

clientele, people who did not mind paying exorbitant fees in order

to see a genuine member of the extinct sugarcane aristocracy up

close.”16

Despite his brutal and superficial behavior, Ferré decides to

complete the story with a climax: a magical act in which the

lady/doll embodies all the Puerto Rican women and takes her

revenge:

One night, he decided to go into her bedroom, to watch

her as she slept. He noticed that her chest wasn't moving. He

gently placed his stethoscope over her heart and heard a

distant swish of water. Then the doll lifted up her eyelids, and

out of the empty sockets of her eyes came the

frenzied antennae of all those prawns.17

What readers can observe in the last part is a fusion between the

doll and the woman and nobody knows if the sorcery comes from the

15 Ibid. Page 5.16 Ibid. Page 6.17 Ibid. Page 6.

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aunt or the niece. Ferré decides to use that as an instrument to

obtain revenge; she describes it in detail to create a strong

impression on the reader who is given the possibility to interpret

the magical act.

On the other hand, readers can see a very different but still

important character in When women love men. The main character in

this story is the hysteric, if we consider the psychic illness

from a Freudian point of view18. The two main characters in this

story present two oppositional images, much like reflections in a

mirror: one is the representation of a white widow from the middle

class and the other had been the Afro-boricua prostitute/mistress

of the widow's husband. Both have identical first names, Isabel,

and at times intertwined narrative voices. Isabel la Negra, the

mistress, is a name associated with a legendary madame from Ponce,

Puerto Rico. The prostitute as a character in literature dates

back to ancient times; however, the innovation found in this short

narrative is that Ferré breaks out of the societal, linguistic

censorship by employing vulgar, colloquial terms in naming Isabel

la Negra in such a way that describes candidly all that she was

and did. This archetype of a “puta”19 is in contrasting

18 A good example can be seen in Freud's book Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria.19 Vulgar word used in Rosario Ferré's story to describe the prostitute.

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juxtaposition with a certain, elegant “dama” (Lady) of Ponce.

Despite the obvious differences of class and race, Ferré also

underlines the uncommon relationship that exists between these two

women as they are forced to confront each other upon the death of

Ambrosio, the husband/lover. Curiously, each one inherits exactly

one-half of the property, goods and money left upon the death of

Ambrosio. The legitimate Isabel (Isabel Luberza), who has suffered

an obsessive rivalry against the illegitimate Isabel (Isabel la

Negra), furiously faces her adversary, shows her rage, and, at the

same time, becomes a whole with her rival. Her voices overlap and

the reader cannot understand who is speaking. Both “Isabels”'

behavior described by Ferré can be considered as an hysterical

reaction from a psychoanalytical point of view. Readers can see

some examples in the story, for instance when Isabel Luberza

states:

So many years of anger stuck like a lump in my throat,

Ambrosio, so many years of polishing my fingernails with

Cherries Jubilee because it was the reddest color in fashion

at the time, always with Cherries Jubilee while I thought of her,

Ambrosio, of Isabel la Negra; because to begin with, it was

unusual that I, Isabel Luberza, having such refined tastes,

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should like the shrill and gaudy colors that Negroes usually

prefer.20

Isabel Luberza repeats names in a desperate and unnecessary way

(“Cherries Jubilee”, “Ambrosio”); she would like to talk to her

husband, tell him how she feels after finding out she will have to

share her house with her worst rival, her husband's lover; she

exaggeratedly reacts and it is almost possible to perceive a

monologue, a cut and thrust in which she is the only participant.

Additionally, their chaotic talks, full of random ideas, without a

logical thread, alternate between moments of compassion and rage,

comprehension and hate, sadness and tranquility.

The use of both characters, the witch and the hysteric,

connotes a direct criticism of the patriarchal society and the

customs supporting them. On the one hand, we can see a young woman

married to a rich man, who is deprived of her most important gift

because of the avidity of her husband; on the other, the hysteric

represents the explosion of years of female repression. The

“Isabels” become a character merged together, a fusion that no man

expects to see: confusion, aggression, irrationality. Besides,

readers can see a clear negative judgment shown by the description

of the sexual freedom for men and the constant female submission.

20 Ferré, Rosario. Papeles de Pandora. Mexico: Joaquín Mortiz, 1976. Page 136.

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The upper-middle-class women in The Youngest Doll are mostly

married to macho men, individuals with a dominant character who

make decisions for their woman and with a destructive power that

causes negative effects in their relationships. The word macho has

a long history in both Spain and Portugal as well as in Spanish

and Portuguese languages. It was originally associated with the

ideal societal role men were expected to play in their

communities, most particularly, Iberian language-speaking

societies and countries. Macho in Spanish is a strictly masculine

term, derived from the Latin mascŭlus meaning male (today hombre or

varón). Machos in Iberian-descended cultures are expected to

possess and display bravery, courage and strength as well as

wisdom and leadership, and “ser macho” (literally, “to be a

macho”) was an aspiration for all boys. During the women's

liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s, the term began to be

used by Latin American feminists to describe male aggression and

violence.21 By doing this, Ferré criticizes the patriarchal

structure of gendered relations in Latino communities. She

accomplishes her goal to describe a particular Latin American

brand of patriarchy. Her intention to leave the husband out of the

21 Ramírez, Rafael. What Means to be a Man: Reflections on Puerto Rican Masculinity. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999. Print.

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context is intentional: by doing that, she can focus on the

Isabels. She gives them the right to speak and express themselves,

creating an intense bond that ties and separates both women at the

same time: “I'll do my hair just like hers […]” She also says:

“Isabel la Negra was very interested in becoming Isabel Luberza's

partner. […] She was still so beautiful, I had to lower my eyes; I

almost didn't dare look at her. I wanted to kiss her eyelids,

tender as new coconut flesh and of a beveled, almond shape.” But

we can see a separation between the two reading statements such

as: “The day after the funeral, when I realized the whole town was

on to what had happened and that I was being slandered to bits, I

walked through the streets hoping Isabel la Negra would die.”22

It is very interesting to observe how the mentioned characters

have already been described in the past by other authors. For

example, Cixous and Clèment precisely describe these characters

and their attitudes in their book The Newly Born Woman (1986)23. Both

of them often appear in literature and psychoanalysis as a

representation of what is repressed. Using Marcel Mauss and Levi-

Strauss' theories, Clement states that what is repressed usually

is set aside in an “imaginary zone.” It exists in the cultural 22 Ferré, Rosario. The Youngest Doll. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. Print.23 Cixous, Helene, and Catherine Clèment. The Newly Born Woman. Minneapolis: U

Minnesota, 1986. Print.

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unconscious but it has to be repressed and excluded. Thus, the

sorcery and the hysteria become symbols of a repressed past, whose

expression is channeled through the woman. She changes into an

extraordinary subversive potential: the “bruja” (witch) knows how

to treat, she favors the illicit love, and she is also very

independent. For this reason, she often has been excluded by the

society because she was considered different, mysterious, and with

an incomprehensible knowledge that scared people in her community.

The hysteric (the “Isabels”) embodies the reminiscence of the

past, she breaks the rules, and incites chaos. Both of them

represent the anti-rational, anti-hierarchical, and the repressed

impetus. Isabel Luberza shows desperation, sympathy and anger at

the same time while Isabel la Negra becomes the “priestess” of

sex, who incites excess and erotism. As Clèment says:

The heart of the story linking the figures of sorceness

and hysteric lies in the subversive weight

attributed to the return of the repressed, in the evaluation of

the power of the archaic and in the Imaginary's power or lack

of it over the Symbolic and the Real.

So, the intuitive knowledge and the anti-rational can easily be

identified with female characters.

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As I previously mentioned, the reason Ferré decides to focus

on this specific topic is because her prose fiction moves between

two main factors. The first element reflects the affirmation of

powers of the marginalized women (positive aspect related to

sorcery) that we can see in The Youngest Doll's story. The second is a

concept that describes the “island destiny” as product of a

permanent lethargy and frustration (negative aspect) as in When

Women Love Men. The woman becomes a paradox: she is a victim and

enemy of herself, as René Marques considers her in his book Los soles

truncos.

What is shown in both texts corresponds to a sub-text of

postponed rage and bitterness.

How should it be interpreted? Is it a vision that looks back to

the past or points to the future? In my opinion, it can be

considered an ambivalence between a past with strong values and an

unknown future. These ambiguities demonstrate how Ferré faced the

problem of the women in her country. The “avatars” in her novel

turn into global archetypes and are used as symbols of power and

change. The reason I decided to analyze this novel by Rosario

Ferré is because I want to provide a different interpretation

that, so far, has not been deeply investigated. My goal is to show

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the importance of these two characters, the witch and the

hysteric, and how Ferré assigns them a specific role that readers

can clearly see as they perform into their society.

Ferré wants to create a connection with the reader utilizing

specific people and assigning explicit roles to each one of them.

She does not avoid delicate subjects such as cruelty, vulgarity

and violence but she offers new ways to interpret the reality she

lived and she invites her readers to follow her during this

tortuous trip.

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Works cited

Amarilis Cottó, Ruth. La mujer puertorriqueña en su contexto literario y social. Madrid: Verbum, 2002. Print.

Barradas, Efrain. Cuentos Puertorriqueños de hoy. New Hampshire: Ediciones del Norte, 1983. Print.

Cixous, Helene, and Catherine Clèment. The Newly Born Woman. Minneapolis: U Minnesota, 1986. Print.

Desnoes, Edmundo. “El Caribe: paraíso/infierno.” Literatures in Transition:The Many Voices of the Caribbean Area. Maryland: Hispamérica and Montclair State College, 1982. 9-16. Print.

Ferré, Rosario. “La cocina de la escritura.” Sitio a Eros. México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1980. 13-33. Print.

---. “On Love and Politics.” Review: Latin American Literature and Arts 37 1987: 8-9. Print.

---. Papeles de Pandora. Mexico: Joaquin Mortiz, 1976. Print.

---. “Puerto Rican Literature: A Decade in Review.” The San Juan Star 1981: 6-7. Print.

---. The Youngest Doll. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. Print.

Freud, Sigmund. Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria. New York: MacMillan,1963. Print.

García Pinto, Magdalena. Historias intimas: conversaciones con diez escritoras latinaoamericanas. New Hampshire: Ediciones del Norte, 1988. Print.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1955.

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Print.

Lagos Pope, María Inés. “Sumisión y rebeldía: el doble o la representación de la alienación femenina en narraciones de Marta Brunet y Rosario Ferré.” Revista Iberoamericana Dec. 1985: 731-749. Print.

López Jiménez, Ivette. “Papeles de Pandora. Devastación y ruptura.” Sinnombre 14.1 1983: 41-52- Print.

---. “La muñeca menor: ceremonias y transformaciones en un cuento deRosario Ferré.” Explicación de textos literarios 1 1982-83: 49-58. Print.

“Luis A. Ferré.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

Meyer, Doris. Rereading the Spanish American Essay: Translations of 19th and 20th Century

Women's Essays. Trans. Joy Renjilian-Burgy. Austin: U Texas Press, 1995. Print.

Ortner, Sherry. “Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?” Women, Culture, and Society 1974. 67-88. Print.

“Puerto Rican Commonwealth.” Puerto Rico Report. Haden Interactive, 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.

Ramírez, Rafael. What Means to be a Man: Reflections on Puerto Rican Masculinity.New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999. Print.

Umpierre, Luz Maria. “Un manifiesto literario: Papeles de Pandora de Rosario Ferré.” Bilingual Review 2 May-Aug. 1982: 120-126. Print.