“Maria Concepcion” by Katherine Anne Porter is set in a hard scrabble desert. The inhabitants of this desert must be every bit as hard as the land itself, and Maria Concepcion, the story’s main character is no exception.
Although she is just a young girl, Maria is extremely driven and determined. The author describes a tired Maria who would like nothing more than to sit and rest. “She would enjoyed resting for a moment in the dark shade by the roadside” the author states, “but she had no time to waste drawing cactus needles from her feet.” [208] Despite the pain she must have been in from the cactus needles Maria continues on simply because there’s a task at hand and she is a young woman who gets the job done. Even more impressive than her determination to keep walking on sore, cactus needle pierced feet is what we learn about Maria next. Porter reveals that Maria is “a woman carrying an unborn child” [209]. The author describes the way Maria carries the pregnancy in elegant terms. “The shape of her body was easy,” Porter states “The swelling life was not a distortion, but the inevitable proportions of a woman [209].” Clearly porter envisions Maria who carries her unborn child with the same grace and dignity that she meets everything in life. …show more content…
The unpaved road, covered with Cactus needles and the descriptions of the hill side and valley with a spring all contribute to the rural feel of this story. Other characters serve to reinforce the underdeveloped feel of the setting. The write introduces Lupe, “the medicine woman” [209] who deals in “charred own bones, the singed rabbit fur, the cat entrails, the messes and ointments” [209] and her daughter Maria Rosa, a beekeeper who is 15 years old. These types of careers are not often seen in a more developed city, but would instead be outside the city in more rural
Although she is just a young girl, Maria is extremely driven and determined. The author describes a tired Maria who would like nothing more than to sit and rest. “She would enjoyed resting for a moment in the dark shade by the roadside” the author states, “but she had no time to waste drawing cactus needles from her feet.” [208] Despite the pain she must have been in from the cactus needles Maria continues on simply because there’s a task at hand and she is a young woman who gets the job done. Even more impressive than her determination to keep walking on sore, cactus needle pierced feet is what we learn about Maria next. Porter reveals that Maria is “a woman carrying an unborn child” [209]. The author describes the way Maria carries the pregnancy in elegant terms. “The shape of her body was easy,” Porter states “The swelling life was not a distortion, but the inevitable proportions of a woman [209].” Clearly porter envisions Maria who carries her unborn child with the same grace and dignity that she meets everything in life. …show more content…
The unpaved road, covered with Cactus needles and the descriptions of the hill side and valley with a spring all contribute to the rural feel of this story. Other characters serve to reinforce the underdeveloped feel of the setting. The write introduces Lupe, “the medicine woman” [209] who deals in “charred own bones, the singed rabbit fur, the cat entrails, the messes and ointments” [209] and her daughter Maria Rosa, a beekeeper who is 15 years old. These types of careers are not often seen in a more developed city, but would instead be outside the city in more rural