Sunday, March 25, 2012
Labeling
I would say that Townsend's book is more like a creative history book. The fact that we dont have much information on Malintzin makes it really difficult for us to be completely accurate. It seems the author has analyzed all things surrounding her like the culture,kingdoms, traditions,language,geography and from that she has tried to make educated guesses on what Malintzin must of faced. Yet there is still a lot of questions unanswered concerning her true will and identity. It's obvious that she had a role in the conquest of the Aztec empire but we're still not sure whether her actions were completely voluntary or if she was under Spanish threat. It seems to me that she was really just a puppet and she was submissive to the Spanish because her life depended on it. Afterall there was really no other place for her to go she had been given to Spanish as a gift by the Chontal Maya. She didn't have a family and if she ran away she most likely would have been killed by other native groups. Townsends also mentions that the Spanish must of told Malintzins that she would be recompensed for helping them. Dona Marina very well could have been agreeing to Spanish terms on the basis that she would reach a higher status. This was probably the first time she was receiving this much importance for her abilities. Maybe she felt appreciated and maybe she fell in love with Cortez. There's so many scenarios that could come into play but we just don't know. Townsend has done a good job in presenting the possibilities and doing away with the myths of Malintzins life.
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I find it really interesting that you call it a creative history book, but I would have to agree with you. I would say that this book is a completely new genre because it is based off of historical facts but they cannot be proven due to the fact that Maltinzin never left any evidence behind about her life. Most of the information that we have on this woman comes from the writings left behind from the Nahuas and the Spaniards. Like you said, Townsend is just making an educated guess.
ReplyDeleteI really agree when you explain how her choices weren’t really choices. She had no other choice but to make the choices she made because her life depended on it. She was merely a puppet in this conquest, because I feel that anyone could have done the job that she did. I’m pretty positive if I were an indigenous woman during this time and had the opportunity that she had, I would have taken it. She was able to reach a higher status because of what she did for Cortes and that is something that not many people are able to grasp during this time. I really like how Townsend points out how none of the information that she has can actually be taken for truth because there is no evidence. She does a great job presenting the way things could have happened, and depicting what she thinks is true and false.