Literary Analysis of the Poetry of Gabriela Mistral
Born in Chile in 1889, Gabriela Mistral is one of Latin America’s most treasured poets. An ardent educator, activist, and diplomat, among other titles, she voiced her progressive views through her controversial letters, articles, and poetry. She sought to represent anyone subjected to oppression and disenfranchment while challenging Chilean society to reflect on its unjust structures. (Daydí-Tolson)Influenced by the modernist movement she published Ternura (1924,) a volume of poetry on the theme of childhood (Nobel Prize).
One of the poems, “Mideo” (“Fear,”) tells the story of a parent worrying for their daughter leaving the nest and seeking success beyond what she would traditionally be granted. “I don’t want them to turn my little girl into a swallow.” the poem begins. Afraid that the girl will “fly away,” the parent’s stance symbolizes the dismay among overlooked rural workers of the Parliamentary Era (1891-1925.) In the midst of an immigrant influx, Chile was rapidly urbanizing and suffered from “spiraling inflation” due to increased nitrate exports. As the country underwent and socioeconomic shift, politicians disregarded the working class’ demand for better treatment.
Like these rural workers, the parent sleeps on a “straw bed,” indicating that they are of low social rank. They do not wish for their little swallow to "nest in the eaves" because it is above the straw bed, both physically and status-wise since the eaves are most likely attached to a more abundant building structure. The parent worries that migrating will make the child superior and that familial duties will be unfulfilled on both ends - the parent will not be able to “comb her hair" as the daughter will neither contribute to the household as she should. In the second stanza, the parent says, “I don’t want them to make my little girl a princess. In tiny golden slippers how could she play on the meadow?”
The golden slippers serve as criticism toward the growing mining industry and the neocolonial capitalist takeover in Chile. The parent does not want their daughter’s future to be dictated by profit-driven norms as it withdraws from their values and her opportunity to live a simple life where she can “play on the meadow.” In the final stanza, the parent reveals their greatest anxiety: “And even less do I want them one day to make her queen…putting her on a throne where I could not go to see her.” Considering the parallel social commentary through out the poem, this statement easily translates to the greater dissent toward women’s political participation.
If Mistral was known to defend women, why would she not want her little girl to fly like a swallow? To be a princess? To be a queen? The speaker refers to her “little girl,” but Mistral never had children herself. Therefore, the author is not speaking from her own point of view, but as the conservative Chilean who is opposed to social change.
The poem is titled “Fear” to identify the root of the issue: humans do not seek progress out to fear of change, of losing their congenital purpose (in this case, the speaker’s parental duties) or status and that is standing in the way of achieving your full potential according to Mistral. One could assume “them” refers to a hackneyed definition of “society,” connoted with oppression or militant, but perhaps Mistral is claiming the role herself? Mistral has removed herself from the subject opinion for it to project onto her own ideas. She addresses her opposition by turning herself into the anonymous “them.” By flipping the script, she is raising the remarks of those who don’t agree with her. Not only does she bring conservative interests to light, but humanizes them. She invites the reader to realize that by stirring social change, people will be affected both at and against their will. The liberation of woman itself is not a negative matter to traditionalists, but a threat to how they identify and operate in society. The speaker is concerned of the little girl being out of their sight and reach, not standing “by their side.” This language points to the speaker’s worry of becoming subordinate by adopting liberal views toward migration, industrialization, and political conduct.
Looking at Latin American history, the explanations for its development trajectory are countless. Through her poetry, Gabriela Mistral identifies one of the more personal reasons as to how her region, or any part of the world for that matter, struggles to progress as a society - fear is what is standing in the way.
