The Role of Women in Pedro Paramo Anonymous 12th Grade

In a traditional Mexican household, the women tend to personify a maternal character in which they nurture, provide for, and maintain the unity of their family. Throughout the novel Pedro Páramo, the protagonist Juan encounters three significant women who embody motherly roles in his journey through Comala. During Juan’s time in the town, Rulfo introduces Eduviges Dyada, Damiana Cisneros, and Dorotea La Cuarraca in order to guide his transition into the spiritual realm. Additionally, these three women assist Juan with completing his initial goal of learning more about his father, Pedro Páramo, by providing different perspectives of his character. Rulfo specifically implements female voices due to their representation of the three Fates and their cultural depiction as the caretaker of the family.

To begin, Rulfo manipulates Eduviges, Damiana, and Dorotea in order to depcit them escorts to ease Juan into the afterlife. During Juan’s mother’s time in Comala, she maintains a close relationship with her best friend Eduviges. Due to the devoted connection Eduviges has with his mother, Juan encounters her first upon arriving in Comala:

I found the house by the bridge by following the sound of the river. I lifted my hand to knock, but...