Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I, Rigoberta Menchú, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tolerance vs. Resistance
Class, Race, and Inequality
Ancestors, Tradition, and Community
Gender and Sexuality
Language, Education, and Power
Spirituality, Nature, and the Sacredness of Life
Summary
Analysis
Rigoberta’s mother was kidnapped on April 19, 1980. After the death of eight compañeros from the village in the Spanish embassy, she decided to return to the Altiplano to help the community. Although the priests and nuns tried to convince her to become a refugee and to leave the country, she refused, insisting that her role was to support her community.
Rigoberta’s mother’s decision to return to their village shows that the bonds that the villagers have developed are indeed meant to last for life, regardless of one’s circumstances. Keeping the community vibrant and alive, Rigoberta’s mother emphasizes, is more important than saving her individual life.
Themes
Rigoberta recalls her mother’s activism in different villages. Her mother always encouraged women to participate, arguing that women suffer just as much as men and should therefore join the struggle. She argued that no change could be considered a victory if women did not take part in it and defend their own situation. She would tell everyone that, after seeing her son burned to death, she could not forgive her enemies. Rigoberta’s mother used this anger as motivation and inspiration for other people to join the fight. She would often talk to women while they were at home making tortillas, so that they could go on with their work while still developing their political consciousness.
By talking to women in a domestic setting, while they set about their daily tasks, Rigoberta’s mother shows great tact. On the one hand, she proves that she understands the importance of these women’s activities and does not want to disturb their work. On the other hand, she insists that education is central to keeping this community—including the very activities the women are engaged in—alive. Through her actions, Rigoberta’s mother thus shows that she understands the special role that women play in the community, but that this domestic function should not detract from their political consciousness.
Themes
When Petrocinio was kidnapped, all the women in the community, accompanied by their children, occupied the administrative offices in town, even taking the mayor prisoner. This was the first action of this kind undertaken by women. They knew that, had male villagers gone, they would have been kidnapped and tortured. Days later, Rigoberta’s parents and the peasant community occupied the Guatemalan Congress on the Guatemalan National Day. All the demonstrators held flowers in order to defend the human right to life. The peaceful protest, which asked the army to leave their communities, did not have any positive consequences. Rather, the only effect was their decision to torture and burn Rigoberta’s brother.
The women-led action in town highlights cooperation between men and women in this struggle, as everyone’s goal is to keep more members of the community from being kidnapped. Holding flowers during a protest carries important symbolic weight, given that Rigoberta’s community maintains such a precious relationship with nature. In this context, each flower can is a symbol of a human life. However, the fact that these symbolic, peaceful protests have no positive consequences suggest that the authorities are not interested in listening to the poor: they prefer to prevent any possible contestation from the people by using violence.
Themes
After being kidnapped, Rigoberta’s mother was raped and tortured. Rigoberta later received the details of her mother’s final days. Although her mother was raped repeatedly, and her torturers cut off parts of her body bit by bit, she still survived for a long time. Army officials took her clothes to the town hall to prove that she was under their control. They called on the children of the family to appear, but despite the pain of knowing of their mother’s situation, neither Rigoberta nor her siblings came. They knew that this was a trap, and that they would be killed if they showed up.
Rigoberta’s mother’s agonizing final moments recall Rigoberta’s brother Petrocinio’s torture: both are examples of the army’s excessive cruelty, meant to punish and humiliate. Rigoberta and her siblings’ decision to stay hidden reveals their understanding that appealing to the authorities is useless: all the army seeks to do is kill, not compromise. This reveals a shift in mentality when compared to Petrocinio’s kidnapping, months earlier, when Rigoberta’s mother still hoped to save her son by appealing to authorities.
Themes
Get the entire I, Rigoberta Menchú LitChart as a printable PDF.
The army then left Rigoberta’s mother, in agony, on a hill for multiple days. When she finally dies, in horrible pain, the soldiers urinated in her mouth. They also left a sentry next to the corpse so that no one can come recover the body. For months, the army stayed there, making sure that the animals ate the woman’s body, leaving nothing left. Shocked at so much horror, Rigoberta comments that not even animals would behave in such cruel ways. Although the family was deeply affected by this event, everyone felt relieved once Rigoberta’s mother died, knowing that she was finally relieved from her torture.
The army’s treatment of Rigoberta’s mother is meant not only to inflict unthinkable suffering but also to humiliate the entire community. By mutilating the body of a respected community leader in such a way, the army wishes to terrorize the population, so that they will no longer resist. They also simply want to take revenge on a courageous woman who has defied their threats for so long.
Themes
