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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I, Rigoberta Menchú, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tolerance vs. Resistance
Class, Race, and Inequality
Ancestors, Tradition, and Community
Gender and Sexuality
Language, Education, and Power
Spirituality, Nature, and the Sacredness of Life
Summary
Analysis
Rigoberta’s father told her that she was fully independent and could do whatever she wanted, as long as it was in service of the Indian people. Knowing that hundreds of women in other villages had been raped by soldiers, Rigoberta decided to go there, thus abandoning the relative safety of her own community. She was convinced that happiness pertained to everyone but had been stolen by a few rich people, and that it was her duty to change this.
Rigoberta’s father’s blessing signals that, in such violent times, ordinary steps in life—such as getting married and have children—are temporarily put aside. In this regard, Rigoberta’s father is a model and a source of inspiration for his daughter. She derives confidence from his belief that all members of his family, women and men alike, should take part in the struggle to bring dignity and protection to the Indian people.
Themes
In these villages, Rigoberta met women, some of whom were her friends, who were raped by soldiers and sometimes became pregnant as a result. In one case, the community supported a woman’s abortion, saying that their ancestors also did this when a woman was raped and found themselves unable to love the child. Rigoberta felt helpless, however, at witnessing these women’s suffering. Two of the girls who were raped were 14, and they suffered physically and emotionally as a result.
Rape is a weapon used specifically against women, meant to instill submission and fear in the villagers. However, the Indian community’s willingness to support abortions suggests that they are not willing to accept these brutal deeds passively—they aren’t willing to force rape victims to carry unwanted pregnancies.
Themes
Rigoberta notes that she was lucky to speak the same language as this community. There are linguistic divisions even within ethnic groups in Guatemala, which prevents dialogue and cooperation between communities.
Despite the fact that poor Indians suffer from the same exploitation and oppression, regardless of their cultural specificities, linguistic divisions create an important obstacle to collective organizing. This makes it difficult for ethnic groups to come together against a common enemy.
Themes
One day, an old lady arrived. At the age of 90, she was extraordinarily old for these communities, since most Indians died around the age of 60. Her sons and husband had been kidnapped and killed, which is what led her to leave her village. After hearing her story, the community decided to integrate her into the village. In the meantime, they were busy installing traps for the soldiers. One day, when the army approached, the entire community prepared to go into hiding. The old lady, however, stubbornly refused to leave. She set her trap in front of the house and armed herself with different tools. The village was convinced that she would be raped and killed because, as Rigoberta comments matter-of-factly, the army enjoyed raping old people and children.
Rigoberta’s comment about the “pleasure” the army derives from cruel deeds foreshadows the inhumane brutality of later episodes that she and her fellow villagers experience. It seems that the army is able to commit violence because they dehumanize their enemy: they consider Indians less than human. They also label them “dangerous communists,” which identifies them as a threat to be eliminated instead of human beings who deserve fair treatment.
Themes
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From a distance, the villagers heard the dogs bark but no human scream. Then, around five in the morning, after hours of hiding, the old lady suddenly joined the group, ecstatic. Suspicious of the fact that she survived, the villagers wondered if she is a spy, which happened occasionally when villagers sold themselves to the government. But the old lady soon announced something more surprising: she killed a soldier, and she was carrying his rifle and pistol as proof.
On a few occasions, Rigoberta mentions that members of Indian communities can align with the enemy and betray their own people. Although Rigoberta does not dwell at length on these issues, her comment suggests that poor Indians are not impervious to the attraction of wealth and power: when soldiers offer them money in exchange for information, they might be willing to accept the offer instead of risking their lives by defying authority.
Themes
The old lady recounted her story: she explained that the soldiers avoided the trap in front of her house and entered her home. However, hiding in a corner, the woman succeeded in hitting a soldier on the head with her axe. Seeing this, the other soldiers thought this was the action of a guerrilla and fled immediately. In their rush, one of them fell into the trap and the others shot their wounded companion. When the group went to the old lady’ home, they noticed that the wound on the dead soldier’s head was superficial, but that he was indeed killed by bullets.
The old lady’s story reveals that age and physical condition don’t prevent people from participating in the fight against cruel soldiers—both children and the elderly can help defeat the enemy. The soldiers’ reactions also reveal their deep fears about guerillas, fueled in part by ignorance. It’s unclear why they would shoot their own companion, but their actions nevertheless reveal the army’s brutality: instead of solidarity and cooperation, the soldiers are cruel to their fellow fighters.
Themes
The entire village was overjoyed by this event. After asking the soldier caught in the trap to surrender his weapons, the villagers led him out. As in Rigoberta’s village, the community then interrogated him about his activities, asking him how he could accept being a soldier and behaving in such a monstrous way. The man then began to cry, saying that soldiers are killed if they do not obey orders. Although he knew he had become an enemy of his people, he also knew that the army would kill him if he deserted. He told the villagers about the army’s torture techniques, as well as the discrimination he suffered due to being an Indian. He never chose to join the army, he explained, but was forcefully taken away from his town. Upon hearing this tale, the community felt compassion for him.
The villagers’ willingness to engage in dialogue with the soldier shows that their primary goal is not to participate in violent conflict, but to change society, starting with a single soldier. Their ability to feel compassion for a man who was sent to punish and kill them reveals that they understand the structural forces at play. In other words, they realize that the soldier is not responsible for all the atrocities the army has committed, but that he, too, can be considered a victim. The contrast between the villagers’ unity and this soldier’s confusion and isolation underlines the power of community, as opposed to institutions motivated by cruelty and fear.
Themes
The community asked the soldier questions about communists. He said that soldiers were told the communists hide in the mountains and did not look like ordinary people. After the villagers convinced him that he was defended the rich and should defect, the man agreed, promising not to return to the barracks. Rigoberta never heard of him again, although she received information that he respected his word and never returned to the camp.
The soldier’s ignorance about what communists are highlights the absurdity of this conflict, in which uneducated soldiers are forced to engage in brutal acts against an enemy they do not even understand. Labeling the people in the mountains as communists simply serves to oppress peasants fighting for their rights, whether or not they are actually affiliated with any political group.
Themes
