Gender Roles in Guatemala
People in hispanic families all have specific roles. For example, the husband is the man of the house; he works for the money that his family has to live off of. The wife is the woman of the house, the caretaker of everyone; she stays home, cooks, and cleans the house, and tends to the children. Before this used to be the norm, something that was just done and never questioned. But now it has, women everywhere are questioning the lives they have always lived and followed for generations at a time. Gender roles are changing for the better in present day Guatemala. Rodrigo Rey Rosa shows this in his novel, The Good Cripple. There are very few women in the story to begin with, but they show a rebellion towards the fixed traditional ways and start to change them to better themselves.
The traditional ways are portrayed in the novel by Bunny’s mother. Bunny’s mother is the exact definition of a traditional mother who tries to keep her family a traditional family. She tends after the family; when Bunny calls she makes sure that her son is okay, she loves to know every aspect of his life and just loves the reassurance that he is doing fine, she is grateful and checks in every once in a while. She makes sure they are fine and loves to know what her children are up to since they left the house; which is typical for a traditional mother. She is also old fashioned with the way that she lives her life. She has been a devoted wife and mother and never really did anything for herself. She never went to better her education, nor did she think about it. She did not think about going out without her husband; because that of course is unheard of. She had the family that was expected of her. She had the husband and had the children that she now tends to.  She instead cooks and cleans and that’s the way she has lived her life; and it is the way the women in the generations before her lived their lives as well. Not to mention, Rodrigo Rey Rosa symbolically made the city that she lived in the Ciudad Vieja. Meaning the “old city” symbolizing that she is stuck in the old ways and will sadly stay in those ways forever. It was then time for a change. In modern day Guatemala this is exactly the case. Modern women everywhere are deciding to change their ways and decide they want to be equal; some may even attend a university and get an education others may just have a plan for themselves.
Juan Luis’ wife, Ana Lucia is just like this. This character is unsure about her change into the unknown but she realizes she needs to when Juan Luis does not live the traditional lifestyle she expected. Before she became his wife they dated for years and years, which symbolizes that she had no control over the relationship; something very traditional, a man was in charge and what they say goes. Once they did get married she realized he did not want to be there and he had other priorities. Once married they traveled and lived in several different countries but she did not know his whereabouts when he left the house and she found herself thinking it would be best to not know at all. She was really being used as a sex object and someone to come home to something traditional women would just cry over but she did nothing of the sort. Although Juan Luis loves her, there seems to be no family aspect of it. Juan Luis is so fed up with the family that he already has; his father and the lack of a mother, that he seems to not want any type of family at all. His father did not set an example and the absence of his mother made an impact on him and how a woman should be treated in a household. Ana Lucia uses that to do what she wants on her own and actually goes on a trip with her best friend without having a second thought about it. Juan Luis being fine with it because he happened to be gay, yet he just does not really care that she is gone. This character is the perfect example of a woman going against what she has grown up with. She does it because she realizes no attention is being brought to her and does not want to put up with it. She has been there for him, went along with all he wanted but it is not enough. She accepts the type of relationship she is in and accepts the freedom that comes with it. Another character in the novel is Blanca Nieto. She is someone who fully 360’s Bunny’s mother. She is 100% untraditional. Blanca works with Juan Luis and he decides to tell his deepest, darkest secrets to. Something that he will not do to even his wife. He actually turns to this woman for advice over his own wife. She is very untraditional and even reacts in ways to the news in ways that a traditional woman will not. Women in modern day Guatemala are being more independent and that is important for women to realize their full potential.
Women that are portrayed in Rodrigo Rey Rosas novel, The Good Cripple; Bunny’s mother and Ana Lucia are both opposite. One, doing all she has known for  her entire life and one understanding and recognizing her full potential and breaks away from that traditional aspect in a marriage. This is happening in modern day Guatemala. Women are understanding their full potential and feel the need to satisfy their plan in life before they fulfill the plan of a man that will just expect the wife that will wait on their every word. It is understood that the men believe they have all the power in the relationship, that they believe the woman absolutely has to be the one to cook and clean and wait on their hand and foot. Women have been standing down to men for too long. Many have not fulfilled their life purpose in their lifetime. Many may argue that many women love what they do and feel that their purpose is to be the greatest house mother that they can be and be the greatest  mother they can to their children. But many have questioned what it would be like if they had a job, a real job. Many question if their lives would have been different if they went to school, got an education and if they would have loved their lifestyle. Many wanted to make a difference. These are no longer just words in some womans head. It used to be thought of as “ideas” that should not be in woman's head. These are no longer questions that only men can ponder. No, these are questions every human being naturally think of and everyone of them have the right to fulfill that dream. Rodrigo Rey Rosa argues that gender roles are changing for the better in Guatemala; and yes they are slowly but surely changing as women realize these “ideas” in their heads are not crazy, they are not unethical. These ideas can and have become realities for women. Rosa portrays the rebellion and the turning point in women changing to untraditional ways. Not to hurt and bash on the old ways but to be taken as a human being and as a person that  can accomplish their own goals. Gender roles are changing for the better in the lives of each individual. Men in Guatemala no longer have all the power, but the women do as well. They have a say, they have a purpose. Changing the ways from traditional to untraditional as Rodrigo Rey Rosa portrayed in his novel have shown that the Guatemalan society has taken a step into the right direction for women to ultimately reach their goals that once seemed completely unimaginable.
