Week 6 Blog Post

I found the Lara Putnam article interesting. The stories varied from country to country, place to place, but they were always the same story in the end. Women never got their fair share or were jipped, slighted of matters concerning their own property. As was the case of Hermance Fontine in Costa Rica. I liked hearing about Costa Rica. When I read the first sentence in the paragraph, “Women of many origins, Amelia Esquivel among them, ran core stores or bars in Limón in partnership with husbands or lovers” (Putnam 144). I thought oh good a happy story. I was wrong the sentence following said something along the lines of these business endeavors seldom ended well for these women. Not happy at all. Something else I thought rather interesting was the mystery woman who stayed in Amelia Esquivel’s house and who no-one knew who she was, “an employee, houseguest, relative or foster daughter” (Putnam 144). Putnam mentions that this girl owed Señora Esquivel her obedience and loyalty because, when necessary, Señora Esquivel would beat her. I am not sure what is going on in this situation but I find it sad that women are beating other women into obedience. Another example of this violence between older women and the girls either in their employ or care is that of Rosa Chavez. Rosa was a fourteen-year-old placed with a family in in Port Limón. Rosa had decided to run after the woman she was staying with beat her for not making the beds. This is another case of violence between the women and I have to wonder if it stems form a lack of power amongst wives in society and so they find a way to be superior to someone and that someone is the young girl that holds a lower status than she. Reminds me of the saying about bullies. A bully is usually bullying someone because he/she was bullied him/herself