I am Woman, Hear Me Roar: Relationships and Power in Magical Realism In his novel, Chance, author Joseph Conrad famously said, “Being a woman is a terribly difficult trade since it consists principally of dealings with men” (314). Conrad, it seems, is often correct – scores of novels focus in part, if not exclusively, with the relationship and accompanying power dynamic between men and women. For centuries, authors have explored different methods by which to more deeply probe the power struggle between men and women, as well as the power struggle between all people. Magical realism, a technique pioneered in the early to mid-twentieth century, is one such solution. K. Thomas Alwa Edison wrote in an article for the International Journal of Multidisciplinary
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Despite this distinction, men and women are both uniquely powerful within their own spheres, and, in many instances, the women of the novel exert considerable power over the men in their lives. Ursula exhibits the most salient example of this type of behavior through her treatment of her husband and sons. From the very beginning, Ursula exhibits power that extends outside the strictly domestic realm by organizing the wives of the explorers who founded Macondo to resist relocation (Marquez 13). She recognizes her husband’s maniacal pursuits and instead handles the problems with a rational decision. Later in the novel, when Colonel Aureliano leaves Macondo in the hands of his nearly despotic nephew, Arcadio, Ursula instead takes charge when Arcadio’s childish irrationality takes over his leadership capabilities. Marquez writes that once Ursula took over, “she was the one who ruled in the town. She reestablished Sunday mass, suspended the use of red armbands, and abrogated the harebrained decrees” (105). Finally, when Aureliano attempts to leave to sign the treaty to end the years-long war, Ursula bars the door behind him, determined not to let the townspeople see her cry (176). In all of these instances Ursula takes on the role of a traditional “man of the household”, managing both domestic and public affairs in a fashion that is very atypical of a woman in her position. While she is primarily a domestic woman, this role does not define her nor does it strip her of her power to create
Despite this distinction, men and women are both uniquely powerful within their own spheres, and, in many instances, the women of the novel exert considerable power over the men in their lives. Ursula exhibits the most salient example of this type of behavior through her treatment of her husband and sons. From the very beginning, Ursula exhibits power that extends outside the strictly domestic realm by organizing the wives of the explorers who founded Macondo to resist relocation (Marquez 13). She recognizes her husband’s maniacal pursuits and instead handles the problems with a rational decision. Later in the novel, when Colonel Aureliano leaves Macondo in the hands of his nearly despotic nephew, Arcadio, Ursula instead takes charge when Arcadio’s childish irrationality takes over his leadership capabilities. Marquez writes that once Ursula took over, “she was the one who ruled in the town. She reestablished Sunday mass, suspended the use of red armbands, and abrogated the harebrained decrees” (105). Finally, when Aureliano attempts to leave to sign the treaty to end the years-long war, Ursula bars the door behind him, determined not to let the townspeople see her cry (176). In all of these instances Ursula takes on the role of a traditional “man of the household”, managing both domestic and public affairs in a fashion that is very atypical of a woman in her position. While she is primarily a domestic woman, this role does not define her nor does it strip her of her power to create