“Never Marry a Mexican” by Sandra Cisneros is a short story describing the life of Clemencia, a Latina woman born in the United States. In her piece, Cisneros touches upon Clemencia’s life circumstances as well as her love life, both largely influenced by her status as a Mexican-American. The reader gets to learn about Clemencia’s beliefs and see a slice of her life as she describes it. Clemencia lives in the U.S. earning a living by working as a translator and a substitute teacher, all to fuel her hobby of painting. Having had some experience with men in life, the protagonist is disillusioned with the idea of marriage and prefers having affairs without lasting attachments. While also describing her family and occupation, the story mainly focuses on her relationship with Drew: a married white man from a privileged background. The main theme of this story is the way a person’s identity can be shaped by racism and prejudice. This theme can be seen in Clemencia’s relationship with both her parents and Drew.
From the very first sentence, the story informs the reader that beliefs held by the main character were largely influenced by her mother, and by her words: “Never marry a Mexican” (p. 1370). Clemencia has low regard for men, knowing of their tendency to be unfaithful, and even helping them commit adultery out of a desire to feel superior to their wives. She especially distastes Mexican men, whom she does not even consider possible partners for her, saying “Mexican men, forget it” and “I don’t care. I never saw them. My mother did this to me” (p. 1370). The way Clemencia attributes her preferences to her mother tells the reader that the woman had a large role in shaping how the protagonist thinks about people of her own race. Clemencia also voices a clear dislike for the idea of marriage in general, having been informed by the failure of her parent’s relationship (pp. 1373-1374), as well as her own experiences. The place Clemencia grew up in served as a base for her attitude towards men later in life.
Another prominent figure in shaping the protagonist’s persona was her father. Having been born to a middle-class family in Mexico City, Clemencia’s dad was frowned upon by his relatives for “marrying down” by choosing a poor Mexican-American woman as his partner instead of a white person (p. 1371). This reductive view on Mexican-Americans was internalized by the heroine, shown by the way she describes these events. Furthermore, Clemencia later recalls the way her mother was having an affair with Owen Lambert, a rich white man, while her husband was dying in the hospital (p. 1373-1374). The heroine also offhandedly mentions that she and her sister’s old house now belongs to Owen’s children. (p. 1374). Having witnessed her dad, and later herself being betrayed and abandoned solidified her dislike for white people, as they were alien to her (pp. 1373-1374). At the same time, Clemencia saw white people as an ideal to strive to, as they were regarded to be better by society.
Lastly, the person who had cemented Clemencia’s feelings of racial inferiority was one of her male partners, Drew. A married white man, Drew had a continuous affair with the heroine in secret. He listened to her, complimented Clemencia, making her feel special and loved, something that she lacked and desperately needed, “I could love myself and think myself worth loving” (p. 1375). Drew’s attention was a positive influence, improving her sense of self-worth and making her fall in love with the man. Unfortunately, Drew also held on to the same harmful stereotypes as other people in Clemencia’s life, being unable to ever admit to truly loving her back and ultimately ending their relationship to stay with his wife and child. The man’s rejection ended up reaffirming Clemencia’s belief that Mexican people are lesser, leading her to have an affair with Drew’s son as a way of taking out her frustrations (pp. 1378-1379). This reaction was a way for the heroine to reclaim the power she had, to feel as if she has influence over someone’s heart.
In the end, it can be concluded that the prejudice of people can substantially influence the way other people interact with the world, the values they hold, and what they believe about themselves. The piece displays how much of a role people’s perception of an individual can play on that individual’s life. The protagonist of the story was continuously faced with her people’s perceived inadequacy, as displayed by the way her father was treated, by the lessons her mother left her with, and by the way her affair with Drew concluded. Clemencia internalized the things she saw and treated herself and other Mexican-American people as inferior to other Mexicans and white people. Having issues with her own self-worth, the heroine resorted to seeking validation from married men, developing a largely negative view on marriage in doing so.
Work Cited
The Bedford Anthology of World Literature Book 6: The Twentieth Century, 1900-The Present (p. 1370-1380)