Abuse
As the author describes, almost every woman in the area has had to deal with different forms of abuse since they were children. Most of them have been physically, verbally, and mentally abused by men in their community. Gerardo describes witnessing his mother being physically abused by his father while he was still young. He recalls one instance when his mother decided to retaliate: Gerardo and his sisters were hiding in the bathroom when they saw their mother chasing after their father with a broom. Ines and her sister Beatriz equally tells of how they were born into violence-rid families and later married to husbands who continued oppressing them. However, both decided to flee their marriages after suffering too much in the hands of their spouses.
Other women like Jazmin describe being psychologically tortured by their fathers. At a tender age, Jazmin’s father would constantly remind her that she was neither clever nor worthy. According to her father, women did not deserve education: a woman’s job was to take care of her husband and children. These harsh words still resonate in her mind to this date. Jazmin believes that being mentally and verbally abused by her father destroyed her hope for a more decent future.
Self-worth and Insecurities
At the heart of every abusive male lies a history of abuse and deprivation. Most men in Maya Town describe growing up under their drunken fathers who deprived them of love, attention, and respect both as children and as adults. Men grow up seeing their mothers and sisters being abused daily which gives the idea that women are unworthy. At a young age, they are also led to believe they are stupid and lack characteristics that distinguish them as men.
Marcelo describes instances of abuse against him and his sisters which led to drinking at a primitive age. Marcelo carried his father’s violent behaviors into his adulthood and marriage which ruined his family. Gerardo took care of himself for as long as he could remember. His parents were constantly fighting therefore spared no time for their children.
Alcoholism
This is another recurrent plague in the account. Most violent men in the text are drunkards. The personal accounts of Carmen, Monica, and Gerardo suggest that drinking remains a key contributor to physical violence. Most men start drinking at an adolescent age in light of the excessive violence looming in their families. The young men continue drinking after they get married then the abuse begins. They constantly assault their wives and recklessly disregard their children. Some of them including Gerardo died because of alcohol abuse.
