The Control of Men

In Angie Cruz’s Soledad we are asked to consider the various ways that a woman’s identity is shaped by the men in her life. We are introduced to five women and the way their lives are controlled by the circumstances laid down by the men in their lives.

Donette Francis in her article entitled “Novel Insights: Sex Work, Secrets, and Depression in Angie Cruz’s Soledad” details how all of the women are affected by their corresponding men not only in their identities, but in their relationships with other women as well.  Francis states the Soledad “explores how these and related circumstances impact one’s sense of self, one’s physical and mental well-being,” (55).

These women, including Soledad, her mother Olivia, her cousin Flaca, her aunt Gorda, and her grandmother Doña Sosa, are prohibited from having a completely independent identity because of the men in their lives.

Soledad’s desire to escape Washington Heights and her family are quickly put on hold by her mother’s illness. Soledad returns to help care for her mother, but finds herself attracted and attached to Richie, a suave, young man who becomes a large part of Soledad’s life. Soledad, however is not the only one attracted to Richie. In fact, he becomes the downfall of Soledad’s relationship to her younger cousin Flaca, who’s obsession with Richie dominates her role in the story.

Flaca flies into a fit of rage after catching Soledad and Richie having sex on the roof. “She wants to ram her fist up inside Soledad’s throat, stick her boot up her ass, twist her neck, yank her hair out of her head,” (Cruz 262). Flaca is enraged after catching Soledad and Richie having sex in the roof. Flaca ignores the fact that she is only fourteen and not at all age appropriate for Richie. Her infatuation with him controls her mental state. This immediate dismissal of all love and admiration Flaca may have had for her cousin based solely on a boy is a clear example of the control a male can have over a female.

This is not the only instance in the story where a man causes a riff in a woman’s relationship cause of the complex circumstances surrounding Olivia’s husband, Manolo and the question of his paternity. Olivia and Soledad’s relationship is plagued by distance and secrecy because of Olivia’s past as a sex worker and Manolo’s abuse.

Olivia and Soledad both struggle with ghosts from the past, both metaphorically and literally. This is a direct result of the circumstances surrounding Manolo’s death. Donette Francis explain what Soledad learned from the murder of her father. “Soledad quietly acts as a passive accomplice, since what she has learned from her mother about intimacy is that only extreme measures will guarantee her survival.” (Francis 66).

Donette Francis describes the healing process that Soledad and Olivia must go through as needing to “reach individual wholeness,” (Francis 70). This means that they have to find the missing parts of themselves within one another. This can only be done through transparency and honesty, but these qualities have been made impossible by Manolo’s hold over Olivia despite his early death.

The only way that Olivia and her mother can remedy their relationship is by purifying themselves in the Dominican Republic. Soledad nearly drowns before she is saved by her mother. This baptismal like cleansing both physically and metaphorically rids Soledad and Olivia of the demons they harbor from Olivia’s past.

Francis states that by “revealing herself and the sexual past she tried to repress, Olviia opens the possibility of establishing a meaningful relationship with her daughter.” (70). Olivia’s past is controlled by her sex work and her relationship with Manolo. Only be permanently ridding her life of Manolo can she escape her comatose move forward in her relationship with her daughter.

Each woman in this novel is prohibited in some way by the men in their lives.

Flaca is prevented from having a meaningful relationship with her cousin because she allows her obsession with Richie to make her hate Soledad.

Gorda cannot move on from the trauma of being abandoned by her husband Raful.

Doña Sosa is confined to her home to care for her ill husband.

Soledad and Olivia cannot establish a healthy relationship with one another because of their inability to escape Manolo’s abuse.

The women in this novel must allow themselves to escape the control held over them by the men of the novel in order to maintain a healthy physical, emotional, and mental life.

Works Cited

Cruz, Angie. Soledad. New York City, Simon and Schuster, 2000, p. 262, http://www.scribd.com/read/224455158/Soledad#.

Francis, Donette. “Novel Insights Sex Work, Secrets, and Depression in Angie Cruz’s Soledad.” pp. 55-70.