La frontera de cristal: una novela en nueve cuentos by Carlos Fuentes “is an inauthentic work exploring the stereotypical interior and emotional ‘female domain’ of women along a variety of borders”. This observation of false stereotypes is seen most strongly in “Las amigas” through the actions and behavior of Josefina and Miss Amalia Ney Dunbar but also in “La Frontera de Cristal” through Audrey. Within these short stories, Carlos Fuentes inscribes the theme of a border. He does not just focus on the physical territory separation between Mexico and the United States, but also in the division of the experiences and way of living of the characters depending where they are living. Different borders like class, race, culture and language are crossed,
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She has a nephew who will inherit all her money after she is gone. Her nephew, Archibald, finds her a new servant/ maid after Miss Amy made them run out of the house by the numerous insults she made towards them. Archibald then contracts a Chicana woman named Josefina who agreed to work for Miss Amy because she needs to money to help her husband get out of jail by paying his legal classes that the nephew was giving her husband. Josefina is not a typical Mexican maid working for a rich American elderly lady. She is a Mexican American and she know how to speak in english because she grew up in Chicago. Nonetheless, Miss Amy starts seeking for any possible way to offend and insult Josefina, however, Josefina, the Mexican maid is quite astute. Josefina defends herself with her culture, something Miss Amy did not anticipate. For instance, when Miss Amy accuses Josefina of stealing the flowers, “¿De dónde las sacaste?...¡Apuesto a que las robaste!”, Josefina does not become aggressively defensive. She confidently tells Miss Amy that she had bought the flowers with her salary because the house was smelling damp and musty. Even after Miss Amy questions her “¿Las compraste?”, Josefina stays calm answer Miss Amy’s question. Stereotypically, Miss Amy thought that Josefina was going to get offended and cry or storm out like Betsabé use to do but Josefina …show more content…
On the contrary, he thinks all American women are supposed to be “muy fuertes, muy seguras de sí mismas, muy profesional, muy puntuales… menos melancólica, quizás tierna, quizás amorosa”. In addition, Audrey herself thinks that she was going to be angry and annoyed with all the movements of Lisandro cleaning, however, she was not. In fact, when she saw Lisandro, she saw “cortesia”. Unlike many women that would first notice Lisandro’s skin color, Audrey was able to see pass that and was even able to see better person than her husband. She imagines what her life would be like if she was with someone like Lisandro. She would be happy to have someone that cares about her and treats her right. However, she does not have the perfect relationship with her husband and she is at work on a Saturday morning. When Lisandro was supposed to write his name and instead wrote “MEXICAN”, Audrey asked more about him. She was not pushed away or repelled by having a “conversation” with a mexican male. To Audrey, the only thing separating them was “la frontera de cristal”. As an American, Audrey did not see a racial, economic, or even a language barrier even though, they are all present. Stereotypically, Audrey is not the “typical” American female who would never have even looked at Lisandro just like Miss Amy would have never kissed the maid’s
She has a nephew who will inherit all her money after she is gone. Her nephew, Archibald, finds her a new servant/ maid after Miss Amy made them run out of the house by the numerous insults she made towards them. Archibald then contracts a Chicana woman named Josefina who agreed to work for Miss Amy because she needs to money to help her husband get out of jail by paying his legal classes that the nephew was giving her husband. Josefina is not a typical Mexican maid working for a rich American elderly lady. She is a Mexican American and she know how to speak in english because she grew up in Chicago. Nonetheless, Miss Amy starts seeking for any possible way to offend and insult Josefina, however, Josefina, the Mexican maid is quite astute. Josefina defends herself with her culture, something Miss Amy did not anticipate. For instance, when Miss Amy accuses Josefina of stealing the flowers, “¿De dónde las sacaste?...¡Apuesto a que las robaste!”, Josefina does not become aggressively defensive. She confidently tells Miss Amy that she had bought the flowers with her salary because the house was smelling damp and musty. Even after Miss Amy questions her “¿Las compraste?”, Josefina stays calm answer Miss Amy’s question. Stereotypically, Miss Amy thought that Josefina was going to get offended and cry or storm out like Betsabé use to do but Josefina …show more content…
On the contrary, he thinks all American women are supposed to be “muy fuertes, muy seguras de sí mismas, muy profesional, muy puntuales… menos melancólica, quizás tierna, quizás amorosa”. In addition, Audrey herself thinks that she was going to be angry and annoyed with all the movements of Lisandro cleaning, however, she was not. In fact, when she saw Lisandro, she saw “cortesia”. Unlike many women that would first notice Lisandro’s skin color, Audrey was able to see pass that and was even able to see better person than her husband. She imagines what her life would be like if she was with someone like Lisandro. She would be happy to have someone that cares about her and treats her right. However, she does not have the perfect relationship with her husband and she is at work on a Saturday morning. When Lisandro was supposed to write his name and instead wrote “MEXICAN”, Audrey asked more about him. She was not pushed away or repelled by having a “conversation” with a mexican male. To Audrey, the only thing separating them was “la frontera de cristal”. As an American, Audrey did not see a racial, economic, or even a language barrier even though, they are all present. Stereotypically, Audrey is not the “typical” American female who would never have even looked at Lisandro just like Miss Amy would have never kissed the maid’s