In many ancient societies, culture specific values and beliefs largely tend to define the societal expectations of men and women. “Boys are better than girls” – This impression was carried out for a long time in the historical past. Certain roles were kept away from women as they were considered to be “male jobs”. The role of a woman was described as a person, whose primary duty was to cook food, take care of household chores, rearing and nurturing children; basically, duties associated with family. Even though, with passage of time, women have started contributing to economy, getting educated and competing for male dominated jobs at all levels, it is still very hard and difficult to shake off the perception which has been indoctrinated…show more content… The two texts that will be taken into account for this paper are “Three Knot In The Net” and “Fleeting Friendships”, both written by Rosario Castellanos
Rosario Castellanos in many of her works have had major influences when it comes to Mexican literature to women. Many of Castellanos’s texts are related to matters of gender inequality and oppression; these texts have had a powerful impact on feminist thinking and cultural studies. One could say that one of the reasons that Castellanos felt the need to write about feminism would be when her own mother bluntly stated that she wouldn’t want her son to die, when a fortune-teller predicted that one of her two kids would…show more content… In a way, she also linked the space amid Mexican civilization and her own private life. In her writings, the basic roles of “woman” and that of a writer “writer” collide, to create something more meaningful.
In Castellanos’s style of writing, it’s easy to say that the kind of image that she portrays of women’s disempowerment is rather, awkward in a way. In her writings, she studies external factors such as – societal, cultural and economic forces, and describes what kind of impact they have on Mexican women’s identity. Castellanos has been influential on Chicana feminists and authors. In Castellanos writings, she questions the manner in which women’s socialization have been restrictive to only household roles. Castellanos’ work shows us how women try to, and need to foster, what is their own authentic self.
Moving onto one of her other well-known texts, “Fleeting Friendships”. This story recounts the lives of women, and how they are used as mere pawns to prove to their husbands and fathers pride, “this honor that the various structures of male dominance – property, the law, social status, and political authority – exist to