Mama Torres Character Analysis

Mama Torres has been in charge of the Torres farm ever since her husband was killed by a rattlesnake. She continues to raise her three children—Pepé and his younger siblings, Emilio and Rosy—on her own. Mama Torres has a stern, snarky, and no-nonsense personality, shaped by the struggles and losses of many long and difficult years. But while she has a harsh and cold exterior, she harbors genuine love and pride for her children, especially Pepé, even as she scolds him for his laziness and is skeptical of his maturity at the beginning of the story. Her love for Pepé is heartbreakingly evident when she sends him into the mountains quickly and without showing much emotion but then breaks down into tears shortly after he leaves, mourning her son and calling him the family’s “protector.” The intensity of her feelings combined with her reluctance to show her true emotions to her son gives depth and humanity to Mama Torres’s character, illustrating that she’s a person who forces herself to be tough and stoic when the situation demands it. Her stern way of showing love and her mourning highlight the unnecessary tragedy of the story. She fears Pepé meeting the same fate as her husband, and this makes her reluctant to show affection directly or become too attached. And, just as she expected, her son’s sudden rise to manhood is what ultimately takes him away from her forever. Mama Torres’s grief demonstrates that men aren’t the only people who are hurt by the traditional masculine obsession with violence and heroism.