Virgin Of Guadalupe Poem Summary

Based on the passage from The Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the main word seemed to be “Her.” It was very interesting to go from reading a poem about a woman who was constantly being oppressed and silenced for her gender (“To a Gentleman of Peru”) to go on to read a story about a man being called to worship a woman. Despite the conflict between the Spanish and the Native Americans, both cultures had similarities regarding their physical traits as well as their treatment of women. At the time, women, in both the Spanish and Native American cultures, were not given then same respect as men. Women were called to be completely submissive to both God and their husbands, and they were discouraged to speak out in public much less hold leadership positions. However, by examining how the narrative describes her physical attributes, it shows that she unifies both the indigenous people and the Spaniards.
Although the man worships her because she represents the Virgin Mary, she is also being worshipped simply for her womanhood as well. The passage goes on to describe her numerous of her physical attributes. For example, when the passage states, “Her sacred face is very beautiful, grave, and somewhat dark,” the author conveys that although the Virgin of Guadalupe is beautiful yet also grave because she represents women and how they did not have
Although the passage describes her attire as very colorful, it also uses words that relate to the earth as well. For example, the passage uses phrases such as, “Threads of cotton . . . her waist is violet . . . her slipper is earthen in color . . . her robe is rose-colored.” The Spaniards and especially the indigenous people valued the earth and nature very highly; by using phrases such as these, the author compares the Virgin to Mother Earth, and Mother Earth, herself, represents femininity as well as