“Woman Hollering Creek” was first published in a 1991 collection of short stories by Sandra Cisneros called “Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories.” The narration is about Cleofilas Enriqueta DeLeon Hernandez, separated from her friends and family after her marriage to Juan Pedro Martínez Sanchez. Cleofilas was raised by her father, who promised never to abandon her even after marriage. He told her, “I am your father, I will never abandon you,” words that she remembered when things did not work out in her union (220). She expected her marriage would resemble the telenovelas she grew up watching, filled with love and passion. However, Juan Pedro was not what Cleofilas had thought he would be because he mistreats and beats her. Finally, she finds her freedom and leaves with the help of a friend and a doctor. Cisneros uses symbolism to express the struggle of women to overcome romantic domestic bliss notions, which awakens their inner power.
In her story, Cisneros uses the La Gritona or Woman Hollering Creek as a symbol and critical character throughout the story. The role of this creek is to represent Cleofilas’s borders; the two sides of the arroyo represent an aspect of her life. One side signifies her new life as a married woman. She first saw the bridge as a new bride when Juan Pedro identified it and mentioned La Gritona. She laughed and thought, “Such a funny name for a creek so pretty and full of happily ever after.” (221). Cleofilas thought her marriage would be a happy one full of love and passion. However, her marriage was not what she had imagined. Juan Pedro started hitting her, and “the first time it happened she had been so surprised she didn’t cry out or try to defend herself” (220). On the other side of the creek is Cleofilas’s childhood home, where “her parents had never raised a hand to each other or to their children” (222). The two sides of La Gritona remind Cleofilas of the side of life that she is on and the reality of her life.
Symbolically, the creek’s name refers to how a person’s life can evolve from being beautiful and romantic to pain and disappointments and, finally, into a mark of overcoming obstacles and gaining strength. The creek symbolism changes drastically as the story progresses. At the beginning of the story, Cleofilas crosses the bridge for the first time. The symbolism is romantic and mysterious as she is perplexed at the name of La Gritona, wondering why it is funny and whether it represents pain or rage. The character is crossing to a new life opportunity and is confused by the name’s negative connotation because she sees what lies ahead of her as hopeful and beautiful. The perception continues as the story progresses as Cleofilas uses terms like “the moon floating pearly over the arroyo” to define it (224). She believes she has the best husband and has no intention of breaking up with this man.
However, as her new life continually disillusions her, the Woman Hollering Creek grows to something more menacing. Juan Pedro beats Cleofilas, and she does nothing about it. According to the text, “…when the moment came, and he slapped her once, and then again…she didn’t fight back, she didn’t break into tears, she didn’t run away as she imagined when she saw such things in the telenovelas” (222). At this point, Cleofilas begins to think about the creek’s name. She asks herself whether the woman is hollering in pain, sadness, or anger. She compares it to La Llorona, a neighbor rumored to have drowned her two kids, and her ghost wanders at night crying. Cleofilas thought the creek must be calling because nothing seemed like what she was expecting. She had hoped that “…her life would have to be like that, like a telenovela, only now the episodes got sadder and sadder. And there were no commercials in between for comic relief. And no happy ending in sight” (226). Juan Pedro mistreats her, and she does not see the beauty she saw in the river at the beginning of her marriage.
Finally, Cleofilas manages to cross the Woman Hollering Creek for a second time to return to her father’s home. She is hopeful and begins to change her opinion about the creek. She meets a woman called Felice, who is hollering joyfully and triumphantly as she crosses the river. Cleofilas recounts how Felice “…just started yelling like crazy” (228). At the end of the story, she joins Felice laughing as they cross the river. The symbolism here shows that Cleofilas has obtained new strength, freedom, and hope as she returns to her childhood home. She discovers why a woman can holler-not because of anger, fear, sadness, or pain, but due to victory.
To conclude, the short story is about a woman who overcomes cultural and gender enslavement to acquire new freedom and victory. The author uses symbolism to express how marriage can evolve someone’s life from a happy and beautiful life to that of pain and rage. Women can be bound to places that cause them pain but react differently. While La Llorona cries to express her sadness, Cleofilas does nothing about her abusive marriage. Finally, her cry is evoked by the name and sound of the water flowing through the Woman Hollering Creek, which makes her realize that the hollering can be sounds of victory and joy. In the end, she leaves her uncaring partner and is freed from the bounds of the union.
Work Cited
Cisneros, Sandra. “Woman Hollering Creek.” Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, Random House, 1991, pp. 219-228. Web.