FREE ESSAY ON WOMEN HOLLERING CREEK

WOMEN HOLLERING CREEK

This wonderfully written story by Sandra Cisneros details the life of Cleofilas, the main
character. Cleofilas deals with several problems during her childhood and continuing on
into her marriage. The story never describes any significant relationship with her mother
and the negative effects of this can be clearly seen throughout Cisneros' piece of work.
Cleofilas instead turns to the television, particularly the telenovelas, for a female
role model in her life. After Cleofilas was married, her husband became terribly abusive
towards her. Because Cleofilas had no real female role model in her life, she did not
know any better and allowed herself to remain in an abusive relationship.
2. Cleofilas was an only child and as a little girl, did normal things such as going to
the movies, playing with friends, and visiting the local soda fountain. Like most young
girls in Mexico, Cleofilas enjoyed watching telenovelas. She would frequently visit "a
girlfriends house to watch the latest telenovela episode and try to copy the way the
women comb their hair, wear their makeup" (44). The telenovelas depicted the perfect life
to live. The men and women were all very beautiful and lived rich, comfortable lives.
3. The telenovelas were Cleofilas' guide for learning about love. She fantasized of
finding her true love, "the great love of one's life" (44), just like the beautiful
models always did. Although often in the telenovelas, hearts were broken and betrayal was
common. Cleofilas accepted that love was not always perfect but still believed, "to
suffer for love is good. The pain all sweet somehow. In the end..." (45).
4. As Cisneros' story progresses, she explains that Cleofilas and her husband were very
much in love. Cleofilas never thought that her new husband, the man she would spend the
rest of her life with, would ever strike at her. 
"She had always said she would strike back if a man, any man, were to strike her...The
moment came, and he slapped her once, and then again, and again...but she didn't fight
back...as she imagined she might when she saw such things in the telenovelas" (47).
Cleofilas did not know how to react to her husband hitting her. She had never imagined
that he would ever do such a thing.
5. Abusing women is wrong in all cases. Cleofilas was unable to fully realize this and
waited too long to leave her husband. She worried about all the bad rumors that would
spread if she left her husband publicly. If Cleofilas grew up with a strong female role
model in her life, she probably would not have stayed with her husband as long as she
did. From the beginning, Cleofilas could have seen the trouble signs and left the
situation. The telenovelas only represented a fantasy world and those type stories did
not exists in the real world.