Ok, I was inspired by a previous post to write a character analysis of Julieta.
Ok, I could get behind this take, but only if the entire town’s health does not rest solely on her shoulders. Like if she had help and train
So, the deal with Julieta is that she’s not exactly the golden child, at least not at first. It’s more like she’s the Good Girl of the family. The one that Alma doesn’t have to worry about because she’s so mature for her age. She’s quiet, humble, and kind. The one who may have been overlooked in favor of her louder and more boisterous siblings.
She can heal people with the food she makes and the love she carries for everyone in the Encanto. So therefore, no, she’s not the golden child, she’s the Caretaker.
The extra set of hands Alma needed when things were too much for her. If Alma was feeling down or depressed, or too busy, and Julieta’s siblings were anxious or upset, Julieta would take care of it. No need to bother their mother unless it’s an emergency, right?
It’s been said she was born to be a mother and that’s because she’s been mothering her family and half the town since she was five. Those are the sort of expectations she carries around.
I think that’s what allows her to relate to her older daughters and sobrinos who fill a similar role of support within the family. She’s the healer, the caretaker.
She lends a listening ear; she tries to make you smile with food and words of affirmation; she shoulders the family’s burdens; she sees their hurt and tries her best to lighten the load.
She was probably the one Alma was eager to marry off first, because she would make such a good mom and matriarch to the family, kind of like Isabela. So good for the Encanto.
But instead of marrying the perfect guy, like Isa planned to, she married the perfect guy for her, Agustin.
I also think she blames herself for Bruno leaving. He was obviously hurting and she feels she failed him because she couldn’t fix it.
That’s why she parents Mirabel the way she does. She sees a lot of her brother in her daughter and that’s why she tells Mirabel not lose her way in this family the same way her brother did.
She always tries to reassure her daughter that she is perfect, that she’s enough, just the way she is. She doesn’t have to try so hard. She showers them all, with unconditional love and affection. (Something Alma wasn’t very good at doing that much growing up.)
And as great as those things are it wasn’t always what her kids needed. She’s a caretaker, but she’s also very passive. Unlike her siblings, she’s the “unproblematic” one. “Señorita Perfecta” in that she avoids making waves and causing conflict. She tries to be a good daughter, and not give her mother a hard time. That’s what I think she has someone like Agustin for. A husband who stands by her and will firmly stand up for his family, and always support them, no matter what. And that’s exactly what he does. So yeah, I think she’s an amazing mom, and a great role model with her own flaws and problems just like everyone else.
