Commentary: Where Politics and Literature Align

Through works of literature, authors make a point to convey underlying social and or political commentary. In particular, plays convey these points through body language, atmosphere, and setting. In using a sewing shop, a few average american citizens, and the relationship between them, the audience can see the complexity in its simplicity by digging deeper into the intersections of each character and their problems. In Real Women have Curves, the relationship between mother and daughter, Carmen and Ana, conflict throughout the play on idealizations of education, body image, and feminism as a whole.  These two characters play titular roles in understanding the background of the play and why they speak and act as they do. Ana, who is 19, has strong opinions about feminism and body image as she yearns to go to college. While her mother Carmen, who is 50, yearns for her two daughters to lose weight to be more appealing to future potential husbands in order to have a better life. This conflict protrudes through in scene two when Carmen and Ana are arguing about virginity, education, and marriage. These three ideals conflict deeply with each of the two characters and present a symbolization of how patriarchal figures view women and how young women view these ideas. This symbolization, allows the audience to see how different these characters are and allows a reflection on society, politically, and personally. All of these concepts running through the play are indulged with Spanish dialect interwoven which mirrors the simulations of Mexican-American’s into American culture.  In Real Women have Curves by Josefina López, López allows audience to encounter the stage as a place for political and social curiosity by introducing Spanish dialect and differing opinions on feminist ideals between Ana and Carmen to symbolize the lack of understanding between a white patriarchal society and the minority groups immersed in it.
In Real Women have Curves, López makes it a point to use Spanish dialect interwoven with English and Spanish. This use of dialogue throughout the play allows political and social commentary on the media and American communities in it. It does this by questioning the adaptation of Mexican-American citizens (women in particular) in a white patriarchal society. This adaptation or lack thereof is symbolized and protrudes through many conflicts that the women face while their week of work. With this, López, displays to the audience a key paragraph into differences of Carmen and Ana and how they reflect the dualities today by stating:
Carmen: “It’s because she’s young. At this age young girls should try  to make themselves as attractive as possible,
Ana: Why? Why not always? You’re overweight too.
Carmen: But I'm already married.
Ana: Is that it? Make myself  attractive so that I can catch a man?
…..
Ana: Ama, I do want to lose weight. But part of me doesent beacuse my weight says to everyone, “Fuck you!”
Carmen: Ave Maria Purisima!
Ana: It says, “ How dare you try to define me and tell me what I have to be and look like! So I keep it on. I dont want to be a sex object” (López 66).
This quotation provides contextual details into Ana and Carmen’s relationship as well as a lack of understanding between each other's beliefs. In the beginning of the quotation, Carmen begins to try and justify why Ana should lose weight given her age. Carmen's commentary on Ana's weight and age infer and symbolize the patriarchal standards of beauty of being slender and young. Ana follows this by stating “Why? Why not always? You’re overweight too.”(66). Ana plays back on the commentary by calling her mom hypocritical in saying that she should lose weight when she is overweight herself. Carmen again tries to justify her opinions by saying it is okay that she is overweight because she is married, commenting on the societal and political priority marriage has for women in America and only slender women will receive this status. These connotations pushed by Carmen enable the audience to be curious about the continual oppression of women as the submissive and subservient gender. In continuation of the passage, Ana clarifies Carmen’s opinions by stating “Is that it? Make myself attractive so that I can catch a man?”(66). This clarification speaks to the commentary above and allows again for the audience to reflect on how this similar conversation is spoken upon and dealt with in society today. Ana’s thoughts on weight loss and the idealization to be skinny furthers the conversation upon what women should do against these standardizations pushed in a political and personal space. In response to Ana, Carmen states “Ave Maria Purisima!” which translates to oh holy Mary of God. Using Spanish in this paraphrase adds emphasis in the frustration and tension between the two. In the last part of the excerpt Ana states “How dare you try to define me and tell me what I have to be and look like! So I keep it on. I dont want to be a sex object” (66). López is speaking to the audience without breaking the fourth wall, speaking directly on the social and political antics that are protruded onto women and minority women in particular to assimilate to the standardizations of American culture. 
This excerpt was chosen due to the direct and evidential correlation between Ana and Carmen’s relationship symbolizing the battle that faces minority women and citizens in general today in America. Ana symbolizes young women minority groups in new age ideals of feminism and pushes for standards of beauty to be more diverse. In addition, Carmen symbolizes the white patriarchal standards pushed today that indulge in the submissive and subservient ideals of women in America. This speaks further into the hypocrisy and impossible societal standards that are pushed on women in modern American society as a way to justify the destabilization of diversity in it. Carmen and Ana’s relationship and confrontation further symbolizes the lack of understanding López is trying to convey to the audience between the patriarchal society and minority citizens that are submersed into it. This dialogue encapsulates the main message of the play by clearly stating the divide and understanding that is life in America for women of color. Having the Spanish dialect in the excerpt above as well as the rest of the play, symbolizes to people who may not speak Spanish, the lack of understanding between people of society. It also symbolizes similarly to Ana and Carmen’s relationship, the lack of understanding of the audience on how America oppresses people who are not white, male, and rich. 
In Real Women have Curves, Josefina López uses the dialect and relationship between Carmen and Ana to symbolize the differences in idealizations of white patriarchal and minorities in America by using the stage as a political and social arena. Throughout the play, López uses various symbolizes that are either clear or underlined through the actions and dialogue used by each character. Using basic symbolizations such as Spanish dialogue and hardship of mother-daughter relationships seems like an evident and efficient form to use throughout the play.  Which yes in hindsight it is, yet, if we peel back the layers of why Josefina López used these, it can provide reasoning for the whole play and why it is so important for the minds of today to read. This dialogue, as reasoned above, serves as a symbolization to the separation of America today between a caucasian patriarchal community and the minority groups it oppresses. Minority women in America are often pushed to the side and need to work twice or even three times as hard as many white women and males in general to get to the same place. This along with the complex relationship between mother and daughter, Carmen and Ana serve as a great connection from López’s points and to each audience member reading the play. Using a relationship between a 50 year old mother and a 19 year old daughter is an idea that many audiences can relate to either personally or seen from an outside perspective. Yet what makes this play serve political and social message is that with the relationship comes the layers of hardships in being an immigrant and or minority in this country. And although some may not relate to these problems as it may not be impacting the audience member watching directly, in using an ordinary dynamic, the audience can find understanding and knowledge into the issues at hand.  
This play along with the many plays I have read this semester allowed me to step out of my comfort zone of what literature is and can do. In reading plays, I have found new levels of meaning, connotation, and contextual ideals that allow the reader to be immersed into the political and social arena that is introduced into it. With commentary brought upon the audience from the author in new ways such as body language, atmosphere, and settings, the audience can understand the play more clearly as well as have a deeper level of connection to the play they have read or are being introduced to for the first time. In relation to Real Women have Curves, this play brings new heights into the commentary of modern American thought and speaks to the work that has been done and more work that needs to be seeked out. This play allows people who may hear the problems of others to actually understand and sympathize in the eyes of everyday life. Yet, while using everyday life scenes, López shows the hardships, trials, and conflict between the women in the play and everything around it. This allows López to not only display the problems in an easy way to the reader but allows this simple setup to provide underlying meaning of political and social importance to the stage. 
Works Cited
López Josefina, and Jorge A. Huerta. Real Women Have Curves & Other Plays. WPR Books, 2011.