Week 4

“Now when I am no longer needed my love for Pedro is a scandal, but when I found found water in the desert, treated the ill, buried the dead, and saved Santiago from the Indians, then I was a saint…. You do not have the least idea how I feel. It is devilishly ironic that only the concubine is guilty, she being a free woman and he the married adulterer” (Allende, 251).

This  passage describes the double standard for men and women who participate in physical intimacy outside the bonds of marriage. The protagonist in Inés of My Soul, Inés, loves Pedro de Valdivia. She is a widow, and he is married to a woman in Spain, but that is overlooked and they live together and build up and fortify the city of Santiago. However, the Priest delivers a message to Inés which states that she must either marry or leave her beloved city. Although Pedro is the married man, the one truly guilty of being unfaithful, he does not face the same punishment as Inés. In fact, he faces no punishment at all other than the fact that Inés can no longer live with him.

            The irony of a culture that supports this inequality is described by Sor Juana in her poem “Hombres Necios”:

Whose the guilt, where to begin,
    Though both yield to passion's sway,
    She who weakly sins for pay,
He who, strong, yet pays for Sin?

           

Sor Juana describes the woman in this paradox as ‘weakly sinning for pay’ and the man as “strong, yet pars for Sin.” Similarly Inés states, “It is devilishly ironic that only the concubine is guilty, she being a free woman and he the married adulterer” (Allende, 251).

The double standard that existed in these two Latin American cultures is horrifying. Yet, it is even more terrible that they still exist all over today. Even in modern American culture this irony, although not quite as extreme, perpetuates. Young men often look up to teenage boys who participate in physical intimacy with several girls. They are considered popular.  However girls who have sexual relations with more than one boy are called “sluts”.

Sadly, I have even seen this at BYU (although not involving actual physical intimacy) with boys keeping a tally of who has kissed the most girls, and girls judging one another for making out with more than one boy. This double standard ought not to exist. It is our responsibility to encourage all people, both male and female, to remain virtuous, and also to treat men and women as equals.

Week 3

“Catalina lived with me many years; she looked after my health, she warned me of danger, and she guided me in important decisions” (Allende, 88).

Inés’s relationship with Catalina as described by this passage reminds me of Lewis and Clark’s journey through the American West with Sacagwea as their guide. Inés in her narration describes how vital Catalina is to the success of their journey. Similarly,  Lewis and Clark relied absolutely on Sacagawea’s knowledge of the area. Without Sacagawea the entire expedition likely would have failed. Inés also makes it clear in her narration that it would have been unlikely for her to survive the difficult journey through the barren wastelands of the Chilean desert without Catalina’s guidance and friendship. 

            Both of these Native guides were valued, fellowshipped, and welcomed into the adventurers’ caravans, but despite this, shortly after both Valdivia and Lewis and Clark’s expeditions amiable relationships with the indigenous people ceased to exist. Sacagawea is revered in American history textbooks. Her assistance in the 1803 expedition proved essential and unparalleled. Other Native Americans such as Squanto also provided vital help and knowledge to early American settlers, but the American government still violently fought Native Americans in battle, and then later forced them onto reservations. They were treated brutally, and as savages. Catalina was accepted into the conquistadors group, but her presence could not keep the Spaniard’s army from obliterating thousands of natives.

            Why would settlers of the New World destroy entire populations of natives even after some had proved to be trustworthy? I believe that the answer is complicated, but to put it simply it is because they were different. As humans we have a natural tendency to fear things we are unfamiliar with. It is difficult and dangerous to cross social boundaries and attempt to forge relationships with people who are unlike you. It requires faith, trust, and making oneself vulnerable. Fear of people who are different has penetrated the modern culture of the New World. It is evidenced in historic issues such as slavery, civil rights and women’s rights movements. Unfortunately it is also perpetuated in modern society through homophobia, immigration policy, and in some cases even racism. 

Week 2 blog

"Marriage is not the supreme realization of love, but rather a legal, social, and economic form whose purposes are different from love's.  The stability of the family depends upon marriage. To attack it is to attack the very bases of society. And love, for the same reason, is an antisocial act, though not deliberately so" (Octavio Paz, The Dialectic of Solitude, pg. 199). 

In his work, The Dialectic of Solitude, Octavio Paz explores man’s innate nature to desire to be separated from those around him. Paz explains that beginning at birth when a man is thrust from the womb of his mother his journey is one of solitude. As part of this theory Paz assesses marital relationships. He argues that “marriage is not the supreme realization of love”. Instead, Paz believes that marriage is merely a construct of our society, a means of reproducing.

            This section of the Paz’s text reminded my of The Family: A Proclamation to The World, as well as a few principles that I have learned recently in my Book of Mormon class. In my class, as we studied Alma chapter 30, we discussed ways that the persecutors of The Church can manipulate the truth in an attempt to deceive the saints. Corihor (an anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon) states, “ye say that this people is a guilty and a fallen people, because of the transgression of a parent. Behold I say that a child is not guilty because of its parents” (Alma 30:1).  He mixes the truth with a false teaching. We believe that we are a fallen people, but not because of “the transgression of a parent.

            Similarly, Paz, in his essay combines a truth with a falsehood. First he states that, “Marriage is not the supreme realization of love, but rather a legal, social, and economic form whose purposes are different from love's”, but then explains: “The stability of the family depends upon marriage. To attack it is to attack the very bases of society”. The Family: A Proclamation to the World informs us that marriage is indeed the supreme realization of love, but also that society depends on stable marriages and families.

 I do not mean to condemn Octavio Paz nor to equate him with Corihor. Instead I make the comparison between the statements of these two figures to describe the ways in which the truth can be made obscure by misunderstanding. Often, we are faced with statements which contain both true and false. Therefore, it is our responsibility to learn to discern between the two.

Introduction!

Hi! My name is Erica Ernenwein. I’ve started this blog as assignment for my Humanities of Latin America course at Brigham Young University. I am a Freshman at BYU this year.  I absolutely loved my first semester, and I am looking forward to my second one.

Each week I will be posting on this blog about reading assignments and discussions. I decided to register for this course because I took Spanish throughout middle and high school; I loved my Spanish classes. I was particularly fascinated with the culture of Spanish speaking nations.

One of my favorite things about BYU is how the gospel is incorporated into each of my academic courses. I love being surrounded by students who share the same interests and values as me. I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ; my knowledge of the Savior and His Atonement bring me great joy and comfort. I desire to share the joy that the gospel brings me with others so I am going to serve a mission.  I have recently submitted my mission papers, and I am hoping to receive my mission call sometime within the next few weeks.

I’ve lived my entire life in a small town in Massachusetts about an hour west of Boston. I love all things New England: the scenery, the sports teams, the culture, and especially the food. My favorite place to eat is in Boston’s North End. It is the Italian area of Boston, and it is loaded with traditional restaurants and pastry shops.

Aside from eating and exploring the areas throughout New England I also love traveling the world. In high school I had the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica, and this past Summer I travelled to Europe as a graduation present.

 My sisters, mom, and I in Paris

My parents and I at my high school graduation. 

I also love spending time with my family. I have two younger sisters who are my best friends. Monika is 17 and will be graduating from high school this year, and Courtney just turned 12 and started middle school in September. Courtney recently moved to Georgia with my stepdad. My dad owns a transportation company, and my mom is a teacher of the deaf. She works for early intervention and helps children under the age of 3 to help them overcome challenges caused by language delays and hearing impairments.  We also consider our pets to be a part of our family. My sisters and I especially love our golden retriever Cassie. 

My dad's puppy Doug. 

My sisters and I with our dog.