Strong as a Woman

One of my favorite themes from the book was concept of the strength of women. As a child, Victor was taught he would be raised by women for 7 years because only they were strong enough to bear children. Even comically later on, Victor secretly observed his brother with his girlfriend on a hay stack. As his girlfriend was on top during this escapade, and they both appeared to be making painful faces to this little boy, his lens observed the strength of a woman dominating his brother (who, no doubt, would be deeply embarrassed if anyone found out). Stories like this bring charm to the text, but also provide context to why Victor's father feels so strongly about how his mother left his father when he was overcome with grief. She took the whole family across the border to Texas to start a new life. Victor shows how other cultures have valued the role of women better than what ours has. It something to remember that we were all brought into this world because of the strength of a woman.


Villasenor, Victor. Burro Genius (2004). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.

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