Tensions between Female Representation and Female Empowerment in Carmen Rivera's La Gringa

Abstract:Carmen Rivera's play La Gringa fosters women's empowerment through the main character María's newfound confidence in her search for a sense of self. However, this essay argues that the play nonetheless portrays problematic stereotypical gender roles. In contrast to María's generally accepting and amorous male family members, her female relatives convey hostility toward her. María receives mentorship from her Tío Manolo, but she fails to receive any such support from most of her family and instead turns to her uncle's spiritual source, Atabey, the Taíno female supernatural being. Although María finds liberation through Atabey, the play's limited representation of this deity proves problematic given her invisibility, Manolo's role as mediator, and subsequent exploitation by Manolo. Nonetheless, through Atabey's intervention, the women resolve the tensions in their relationship. Although the character representations perpetuate gendered stereotypes, La Gringa complicates historically stringent gender roles and problematizes patriarchal systems.