Freedom by Subversion of Societal Expectations

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her. The people of a town curse Marcela for her “cruelty” and “haughtiness”, blaming her for the death of Grisóstomo, who killed himself because of his unrequited love of Marcela (85). The towns people believe that at some point a “fortunate man [will] conquer [her] difficult nature” (85). In the true fashion of a pastoral romance, the tale is of a girl (Marcela) so beautiful and virtuous that while she has many suitors, she refuses to marry, finding tranquility as a shepherdess despite her wealthy lineage. Grisóstomo, devoted to the beautiful Marcela, abandons his scholarly life, dressing as a shepherd as proof of his compatibility with her. Grisóstomo’s character undermines the typical conventions of romance, literally dying because of his unrequited love. Viewed as honorable by the townspeople and travelers that come to know the story, Grisóstomo’s death leads the audience to expect no redemption for Marcela. In another act of subversion, Cervantes writes a powerful, although short, monologue for Marcela, blatantly proving her virtuous, honest character and convincing Don Quixote and the readers that she has been wrongly accused. However, Cervantes doesn’t stray too far from expectations, as at the end of Marcela’s story she is still viewed as the cruel cause of Grisóstomo’s death, and Don Quixote’s support of her is practically pointless as he is viewed as a mad man. While such back-tracking detracts from the feminism this tale asserts, it is very progressive for Cervantes’ time.

Although Cervantes’ subversive writing style is clearly seen in the story of Marcela and Grisóstomo, it is satirically visible from even before the tale of Don Quixote begins. Cervantes mocks traditional writing practices in his prologue, all the while including them. Through a ridiculous narrative that involves a friend of Cervantes, he satirically inserts the expected components of a prologue and alludes to the inclusion of other expected literary conventions. Cervantes writes in latin phrases using a character, distancing himself from his position as a literary scholar and establishing himself as another spectator of Don Quixote’s tale. He writes that he will not include such expected conventions as sets of prestigious sonnets, and then the prologue is followed by exactly that. Although Cervantes is utilizing and seemingly writing within the limitations of literary conventions, he establishes himself as the first author to break free from the limitations by inverting them and providing a new perspective to readers never before read.

While both stories aim to work outside of the restrictions put in place by mainstream society, in some ways they are not completely free of them. Both work with expectations of the intended audience, making careful choices of when and how to break away from them. In the end Thelma and Louise could be seen as the victims of ultimate oppression by some, as they are unable to live out the rest of their lives. Marcela accepts herself and is unfazed by society, but society’s views of her still stand and ultimately don’t show signs of accepting her. Cervantes manipulates the audiences expectations of the narrative to include progressive thought, yet ultimately adheres to certain perceptions of how society works. This is not to say that the stories are not highly influential; to the contrary, it’s to emphasize how they came to be so influential. The creators of these narratives were able to masterfully weave in progressive perspectives and be loved and critically acclaimed by the mainstream society of their time (and beyond).