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The Role of Itza as Protagonist in The Inhabited Woman...

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1 The Role of Itza as Protagonist in The Inhabited Woman

Gioconda Belli, in her novel The Inhabited Woman , produces a daring and sophisticated tale of women’s advancement rooted in the Sandinista struggle for liberation. Based in Faguas, otherwise known as Nicaragua, The Inhabited Woman presents the story of two women, Itza and Lavinia, through two distinct narratives. The story first opens to to the musings of Itza, who we later learn is a Texoxe warrior-woman who had died in her people’s struggle against 16th-century Spanish conquistadors. Her death leads to a metempsychotic reappearance in an orange tree, conveniently located in the garden of the second major character, Lavinia Alarcon. Lavinia, a budding architect coming from a privileged background, becomes the host of Itza’s spirit after consuming oranges from Itza’s tree. This change propels Lavinia to joining the budding revolution of Faguas against oppressive leadership. Indeed, while The Inhabited Woman p rimarily revolves around Lavinia in her undertakings, it is the novel’s overarching themes that posit Itza as the story’s true protagonist. Specifically, Itza’s inspirational role, alongside The Inhabited Woman ’ s strong representation of nature and womanhood, reflect this. Lavinia, while a fiercely independent woman with a heightened awareness of her place in society, only becomes prompted to join the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) after Itza’s spirit enters her body and gradually begins influencing her. Prior to this Lavinia is somewhat lost, and does not have any real direction in life. Itza muses about this, saying, “Lavinia contains great spaces of silence. Her mind has wide regions which are dormant. [ . . . ] She is trying to understand herself” (Belli 58). Even after learning that her lover, Felipe, was involved in the movement, she was hesitant to join despite being appalled by the marginalization

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2 of the Faguas’ lower-class citizens. She says to Felipe, “You really hold my birth against me. Of course I care about those poor people” (Belli 29). However, she criticizes the FSLN despite its goals to alleviate the struggle for people such as the poor, demeaning it as a “collective suicide” and “extreme idealism” (Belli 71). Having never undergone the same struggles that Felipe and other members of the FSLN had experienced, it is easy for Lavinia to believe that their fight is irrational. In truth, the methods that FSLN employed scared her, and she was safer admiring their efforts from afar while following her, albeit slightly altered, status quo. It is Itza who changes this mentality, even more so than Lavinia herself. As Itza recalls her story as a young woman who actively and independently decided to fight back against the Spaniards, she subliminally influences Lavinia. When Lavinia finally decides to join the movement, it is because she is more noticeably in-touch with Itza’s noble spirit, as exemplified when she muses about the significance of reproduction in her choice to join the FSLN right before Itza does (Belli 141, 142). Indeed, Itza says about Lavinia, “In a strange way, she is my creation. [ . . . ] The language of my history, which is hers, too, has begun to sing in her veins” (Belli 147). More significantly, Itza has been able to control Lavinia’s physical actions. When the National Liberation Movement made an aggressive statement at the funeral of Captain Ernesto Flores, Lavinia was propelled outside by Itza, who was drawn to the battle (Belli 210). Furthermore, she says to Flor that “[Felipe] struggles like Yarince” (Belli 251), recalling Itza’s history. As a result, Itza’s role in the novel becomes all the more salient, as she is no longer simply a guiding thought but a dominant force. Certainly, Itza has a greater impact on Lavinia than anyone else throughout the story. This is also due to the fact that Itza’s intimate role allows her to better understand Lavinia, and in

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3 describing how she is learning about Lavinia’s thought-processes, says “That is why I can understand her fear and imbue it with strength” (Belli 85). Lavinia’s fears are especially potent because she has trouble identifying with the movement and its cause, leaving her trapped in uncertainty and without real insight. However, because Lavinia’s reality reflects Itza’s personal experiences, she draws from the spirit’s emotions and thoughts. Thus, while it is Lavinia’s own decision to join the movement, it is Itza who becomes the underlying force that drives Lavinia’s actions and provides her with the purpose to take action and the strength to continue. Furthermore, one of the principal themes that Belli surround The Inhabited Woman around is nature. Just as we see throughout the novel, the existing connections between human beings and nature are as important as those between humans. By delegating nature as a character, as we see through Itza’s portrayal through the orange tree, Belli compels readers to focus on how the natural world affects man-made society. This highlights Itza as the most essential character, as through the Texoxe Indian, the novel becomes more complex and gives rise to several more primary issues, such as political and social dimensions, women’s empowerment, indigenous people, and the revolutionary movement. She emphasizes the novel’s themes in ways that would be impossible without her, creating a nuanced story worthy of scholarly interpretation. Itza’s role in nature not only distinguishes her from every other character, but even presents her as the narrator of the novel. Written in first person, Itza’s sections in the novel demonstrates that she is almost all-knowing, as she is conscious to other people besides Lavinia. For example, after Felipe’s death, Itza says that he has “returned to take his place beside the sun. Now he is the companion of the eagle, a quauhtecal, the star’s companion” (Belli 367). Furthermore, at the end of the novel, Itza states after Lavinia’s death that “[She] is earth and

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4 hummus now. Her spirit dances in the afternoon wind” (Belli 411). Through Itza’s eyes readers gain more understanding of each character’s connection with the physical world, allowing them to experience the novel in greater depth. Itza further serves as the only connection between Lavinia’s time and her own. Belli utilizes this perspective by reflecting the worldview of Native American cultures through Itza’s narrative. Itza’s role as an orange tree, in addition to the several similarities that Belli creates between natural elements and humans, represent this. For example, when Lavinia describes the members of the National Liberation Movement, she describes them as “fallen trees” (Belli 65) or “serene trees” (Belli 106, 201). Itza even describes Lavinia and Felipe in similar terms, referring to them as “healthy animals, without garments or inhibitions” (Belli 41) when they make love, and when they fight as “crouching tigers, naked upon the sheets, waiting to see whose claws took the next swipe at each other (68). This represents Native American beliefs, as they have historically asserted that humans, animals, and plants, are identical in life. This recurring motif underscores the novel’s theme of the circle of life, which is reflected most predominantly by Itza. She embellishes on the concept of life renewing itself, saying, “I think now that perhaps my remote ancestors who fled Ticomega and Maguatega and populated this land, also remained in the earth, and its fruits and vegetation during my lifetime” (Belli 124). The centrality of nature and Itza’s role is exhibited as Lavinia, while maybe not consciously realizing this, has repeatedly looked to the orange tree during pivotal moments in the novel. This includes when she was processing the death of members of the National Liberation Movement and its impact on her (Belli 89), after she had decided to join the movement herself (Belli 105), and right before Felipe had died (Belli 352). The orange trees’ phases of life also

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5 seem to mirror Lavinia’s, as for example, when the orange tree blooms Lavinia embarks on her first day of work (Belli 9). She says, “The essence of orange blossoms pursued her relentlessly from the garden” (Belli 9), foreshadowing what would be an intimate relationship shared between the two women, and in entering her house one day immediately notices “the smell of orange blossoms” (Belli 21). Indeed, Lavinia’s connection with Itza, while not readily apparent to Lavinia, provides her with a constant and reaffirming aid. Feminism and womanhood provide some of the most pronounced themes in the book. Both Lavinia and Itza, in their conviction to live a life they wanted, defied societal, patriarchal norms. The concept of women’s liberation is apparent, however its connection to womanhood and reproduction is less so pronounced. Again, Itza serves as the main communicator of these themes. Her role as a tree explicitly mirror this, as plants give rise to a cycle of life, starting from a seed to eventually becoming a full-fledged being, only to be repeated again, identical to the process of human reproduction. Furthermore, the process of human birth involves the mother providing nourishment for her baby through her body. Itza’s orange tree provides Lavinia with not only mental sustenance, but physical sustenance, as exemplified when Lavinia drinks the juice of the oranges and appreciates its taste (Belli 55). She is even reminiscent over orange juice when she recalls family Sunday breakfasts (Belli 51), which echoes a longing for some of the most important figures in one’s life, namely, a mother. The theme of reproduction is evident in Itza’s history as well, as she recalls how the woman of her tribe had refused to give birth as to not provide the Spaniards with any more slaves, and she says, “We did not want to bear children for the encomiendas, children for the constructions, for their ships; children to be torn to pieces by the dogs as if they were brave

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6 warriors” (Belli 143). When Lavinia decides to join the FSLN, she also conjures up the same idea of bearing children, although to Itza’s credit. Lavinia says, “Calm at last, unable to sleep, she evoked the animal sensation, the instinct that had taken hold of her, overpowering reason, constructing the image of the child––” (Belli 140). Not only does this reaffirm the role of reproduction, but it highlights the influence of Itza on Lavinia, and how without her direction, Lavinia would have lacked the conviction to join the movement. Gaining the approval of their mothers is another struggle that Itza and Lavinia share. Itza recalls the moment she left to join her lover Yarince in their battle against the Spaniards, and her plea to her mother. Itza says, “We have to leave tomorrow at dawn. Mother, don’t curse me. Give me your blessing” (Belli 129), however her mother refuses to grant this request. Lavinia undergoes a similar relationship with her mother, as she lacks the acceptance she seeks from her in living the life she chooses. Thus, in certain ways, Itza becomes Lavinia’s motherly figure. Providing her with nourishment, guidance, strength, and affirmation in her choices, Lavinia is the symbolic child of Itza, a child whom she never had the chance to have. Ultimately, while Lavinia can be more readily identified as the protagonist of The Inhabited Woman d ue to her predominant perspective, it is Itza that provides the necessary elements that pushes the story forward and gives it life. A protagonist typically undergoes significant developments throughout her story, and while Lavinia exemplifies this, Itza does as well. At the beginning of the novel, Itza is just coming into the reality she faces as an orange tree in Lavinia’s garden, and she has trouble understanding Lavinia’s society and Lavinia herself. However, by the end, Itza is considerably more in touch with both of these realms, and even demonstrates her understanding when she states Lavinia’s progression into her new, natural state

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7 (Belli 411). Itza’s overriding role in the novel is unquestionable, and while Lavinia is the main, living figure of the story, she finishes the fight that Itza had begun. Works Cited

Belli, Gioconda. The Inhabited Woman . Madison: The U of Wisconsin, 2004. Print

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