Final Essay: The Good Cripple

Misael Argueta

Professor Maritza Fonseca

CAS 115

20 November 2013

Final Essay: The Good Cripple

The Good Cripple is a story about how a man lives after being kidnapped for a ransom. Rodrigo Rey Rosa, the author of the book, shows the struggles and dilemma of Juan Luis Luna, the protagonist, in coping with being kidnapped and having his foot cut off. But the story presents an argument about how roles of women are changing.

The history of society in Central America shows us that society has been mainly patriarchal and male dominated. Men were thought of as bread-winner, where they are the sole providers for the family. Meanwhile the women are supposed to be stay at home mothers, where they cook clean and stay home and take care of the children. Women were expected to be completely obedient and loyal to the men of the family. They were expected to not talk back, not have their own ideas and opinions and just basically be servants to men. Bunny’s mom shows this as she is shown to be a traditionalistic women, where she is the housekeeper and also is obedient to most of Bunny’s orders.

It wasn’t until recently that women started defying these roles and started doing what they want. More women now have their own opinions their own thoughts. They wanted to be treated with the same respect as men are treated. They don’t want to be below men but they want to be as equal as men.

Juan’s relationship with his wife is based off of this sense of equality. They both communicate with each other effectively and they both have a say in what goes on and happens in the relationship. This is seen when they both agree to live in the middle east. This change in attitude by women has been seen as really radical and has been defied by traditionalists. Rodrigo Rey Rosa presents this conflict between Juan’s father and Juan's wife.

Juan Luis Lunas wife is a perfect example of how women's roles are changing.When she was Juan Luis Lunas girlfriend first, Juan's father didn't like her because she was not like a typical house women. She had her own ideas and wasn’t afraid to express them and she wasn’t afraid to challenge men. He resents Juan’s marriage because their relationship is based on equality, instead of the traditional relationship where the women is subservient to the man.  When Juan Luis Luna was kidnapped she was devastated by the fact that his father didn’t want to pay the ransom at all. She pressured and argued with him to pay the ransom. Seeing how effective she was at convincing him, and realizing their love for each other, Juan’s father became accepting of their relationship and marriage.

After Juan Luis returned, they settled down and married. She wanted to go to the middle east and convinced Juan to go. While there she made sure that living there wouldn’t be a hassle for Juan to live there since he had a missing foot. She would go and get the groceries cook clean and do other household activities so her husband wouldn’t be burdened. She was making sure that everything was well for Juan and that they both could have a happy life. She was taking care of the household, as a traditionalist women , but she was also making money and taking care of her and protecting her family.

She supported him in choosing his career as a writer. She gave feedback to his stories and was a big influence in his writing styles. If this story were to be set at least 30 - 50 years before, her thoughts and ideas probably wouldn’t have been well received and would’ve been seem as idiotic. She also convinced him and gave him advice on how to approach his favorite writer.

After a while Juan Luis decided he wanted to go back to Guatemala and his wife agreed with him. When they went back she decided to go back to school so she could get a degree in something. This is a clear example of how the roles of women has changed. Women going to school had been seen as radical and was not well perceived up to that point.  She also is allowed to go out with friends and allowed to have guy friends. Juan Luis’s wife is the perfect representation of the “new woman”, showing us how they are progressing so they could be viewed as equals to men.

However, Central America is a place where the traditionalist view of women is still held into high regard.  Rey Rosa shows this with Bunny’s mom and Juan Luis’s father. She is in charge of keeping the house in order and has to be obedient to the men of the household. Bunny loves her for this but he doesn’t seem to high respect for her. In a part of the story, when Juan Luis finds out where Bunny leaves, he blames this on his mothers ineptitude to handle difficult situations for him. Juan Luis’s father also doesn’t appreciate how Juan Luis’s wife is more progressive instead of being a housekeeping women who has no ability in having her own ideas or opinions.