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Chapter 29
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 never expected her mother to suffer a more violent death than her father, given that her father was an activist for a long time. Rigoberta recalls her mother’s teachings and personality. Her mother insisted that an Indian woman must wear her full costume to be respected. Without her shawl and apron, she risks losing the community’s respect. A woman must neither cut her hair nor modify her clothing, because each person should remain constant and consistent throughout life. Aprons, then, are sacred to an Indian woman. Rigoberta also recalls her mother’s extensive knowledge of natural medicine and remedies. She had an intense connection with plants, animals, and all other aspects of the natural world.
Rigoberta’s surprise at her mother’s violent death suggests that she might not have fully appreciated her mother’s activism when she was still alive. It also signals that women and men can play equally important roles in the struggle against oppression. Had the army not considered Rigoberta’s mother a significant threat to their territorial control, they would have tortured and murdered her in such a brutal manner. Rigoberta’s mother’s insistence on dress signals that one’s clothing is viewed in terms of a social, ethical, and spiritual commitment. This helps explain the community’s approach to prostitution, which it condemns for making women abandon their traditional garb.
Themes
Rigoberta’s mother also enjoyed giving people gifts. She insisted that learning to give is important, because people who give are also bound to receive help in times of need. She also taught Rigoberta to separate women and men’s clothes, which represents the separation of women and men’s lives, for example through bodily phenomena like menstruating. Rigoberta’s mother would also give her husband the most food in the family, to encourage him in his work.
Rigoberta’s mother’s emphasis on separating women and men’s bodies is a signal of her respect for tradition. However, this traditional perspective does not extend to her evaluation of women and men’s mental capacities or civic engagement. On the contrary, when it comes to political issues, she believes that both genders should be treated equally.
Themes
In parallel, Rigoberta’s mother also taught her that a woman is in charge of household expenses. Given her knowledge of medicinal plants, Rigoberta’s mother was often called to assist members of the community who fell ill. This would cause her to be absent from the days for days on end, thus forcing the children to find their own food. This sometimes made Rigoberta and her siblings resentful, as they missed their mother.
Rigoberta’s mother is conflicted between her obligations as the village’s elected representative and her duties to her own children. This speaks to the unique struggle women face when trying to combine their professional functions and their private lives.
Themes
Rigoberta also recalls her mother saying that the entire society, not individual men or women, are responsible for machismo. She said that men and women must work together, otherwise the problem becomes intractable. Women, she argued, are better at expressing affection. Rigoberta notes that her mother, as an elected representative, was uniquely independent, as many Indian women are not allowed to go out on their own: a married woman is not always free to visit her neighbors, sometimes because of her husband’s jealousy.
Although Rigoberta frequently argues that her community promotes equally between genders, here she recognizes that this is not fully the case: even as adults, women are not given the same liberties as men. Domestic dynamics such as a husband’s jealousy can significantly constrain a woman's life. Having benefited from her parents’ example of openness, Rigoberta, by contrast, is given the freedom to develop as an independent woman whose social function extends beyond the domestic sphere.
Themes
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Rigoberta’s mother emphasized that simply being a woman was insufficient: one should become a woman who is useful to the community. She encouraged Rigoberta to participate in the struggle just as much as her brothers, while also learning to carry out important tasks and defend her right, as a woman, to speak up.
Rigoberta’s mother’s emphasis on dialogue between genders implies courage and self-confidence. She believes that women must be brave enough to carve a space for themselves in the public sphere and make their voices heard, even if they’re not always encouraged to do so.
Themes
Rigoberta praises her mother’s courage. She also notes that her mother’s strict attitude derived from having to face greater problems in the family than her husband. She recalls, for example, her mother’s handling of problems such as the death of her young children. Rigoberta’s father, on the other hand, would go get drunk to forget his problems, while her mother would sacrifice herself to assist her children. Although Rigoberta loves both her parents equally, she regrets not spending more time at her mother’s side and learning more from her.
Rigoberta’s recognition of her mother’s courage suggests that women face certain obstacles that men might be spared, such as particular domestic obligations. In this way, women have a double task: to be leaders and public speakers, like men, but also to serve as an organized and responsible figure in the family.
Themes
