experiences of sex, illness, and death.
Shifts back and forth in time and between dreams and reality are structural ele-
ments that characterize many of the stories in The Last of the Menu Girls . Another
commonality is point of view, as the fi rst fi ve tales are narrated wholly in the fi rst
person from Roc í o ’ s perspective at varying ages. Many of the narratives are frag-
mented, with abrupt shifts between action and comment, fantasy and reality, or
present and past.
By the end of the cycle, Roc
í
o
’
s multifaceted identity is established. She has
accepted her Hispanic heritage and even enacts the domestic role within that tradition
by showing the same solicitousness that her mother has always evidenced. At the same
time, Roc í o has defi ed the Chicana stereotype through her dedication to art. Having
attended graduate school, she is much better educated than others in her family, but
her mother and relatives encourage her writing and relish her triumphs. Her uncle
calls her “ a famous writer … or she will be, ” showing his faith in her ability (Ch á vez
188). Most signifi cantly, Roc í o identifi es herself as a writer in the last tale. In “ The
Last of the Menu Girls, ” she knows she does not want to be called a “ menu girl ” ;
although she comes to accept the title, it never refl ects her potential for creativity as
does the designation, and the occupation, “ writer. ”
Roc í o ’ s becoming an author allows her to fulfi ll her own creative urges and con-
tribute to her community by disseminating its traditions and contemporary realities.
She is inspired to become a writer in order to better understand her culture and herself.
Rather than limiting characterization to stereotypes of the sensuous siren or wise
curandera , Ch á vez creates a strong Chicana voice who describes the tenuous balancing
act between childhood and adulthood, innocence and maturity, and individuation and
relationships.
Roc í o ’ s identity thus represents the triumph of integration without assimilation
or exclusive acquiescence in either Chicano or Anglo expectations. She shows her
allegiance to the Mexican culture and its emphasis on community and family
through her use of Spanish language, food, and the breaking of bread with her
mother
’
s family and friend. Yet she also shows her commitment to unswerving
Anglo individualism in her insistence that she is a writer, an isolated and often
isolating occupation.
One signifi er that Roc í o has integrated the Anglo and Mexican worlds is the nar-
rative shift that takes place in the last two stories. Throughout the previous tales, the
perspective has remained focused on Roc í o, and she has told her own stories or they
have been told in the third - person point of view. In the penultimate story some of
the locus of narration is turned over to the Anglo child Kari Lee, and in the last story
Braulia and Regino express their own feelings for part of the tale. Roc í o acts as a
fulcrum for these perspectives, a point of connection between the disparate voices
within both Anglo and Chicano culture. This dialogic perspective expands Roc í o ’ s
community both beyond the geographic borders of the previous stories and beyond
the psychological borders of her adolescent self - absorption.
Denise
Chávez
385
Roc í o ’ s increasing awareness of the perspectives and needs of people other than
herself is shown not only by the expansion of points of view but by an increased
emphasis on connection with others. In “ The Last of the Menu Girls, ” Roc í o initially
shrinks from any subjective experience of the patients ’ suffering, but she develops
empathy in this story and throughout the text in gradual stages. “ Willow Game, ”
“ Shooting Stars, ” and “ Evening in Paris ” focus chiefl y on Roc í o ’ s suffering, while
“ Space Is a Solid, ” in which she experiences greater physical deprivation and mental
anguish than elsewhere, shows her concern for Kari Lee, Orienne, and even a dead
bird. She confi des in Kari Lee and allows the child into her circle of friendship, rec-
ognizing the dearth of acceptance and kindness in Kari Lee ’ s materially comfortable
life. In “ Compadre , ” her compassion extends to Regino; she fi nally recognizes him as
an individual rather than dismissing him as her family ’ s incompetent handyman.
Progression of this type is one of the unifying elements of The Last of the Menu
Girls . In this Bildungsroman , Roc í o develops from an uncertain, typically narcissistic
adolescent into a compassionate young woman who is able to recognize the dignity
of others, including Regino, and to value her family and culture. She also integrates
her creativity more fully into her life as she matures, ultimately claiming the role of
writer and making the text classifi able as a K ü nstlerroman as well.
There are many other structural and thematic aspects that link the stories and form
the nexus of a cycle rather than a collection. Superfi cial similarities abound, as charac-
ters such as Nieves, Mercy, Salvador, and Regino recur in all the stories except for
“ Space is a Solid, ” in which Roc í o still talks on the telephone with her unnamed
mother. All of the tales depict episodes from Roc í o ’ s life. She is explicitly named in
many of the narratives and her family members and circumstances make it clear that
the protagonist of all the stories is the same, whether named or not. The text is also
primarily told from Roc í o ’ s point of view; there are variations within the last two selec-
tions, but even in these the majority of the text is related from Roc í o ’ s perspective.
The book is unifi ed by setting as well, as the same house appears at the beginning
and end of the cycle. The home and neighborhood fi gure prominently in stories of
Roc í o ’ s childhood and adolescence, such as “ Willow Game ” and “ The Closet. ” The
house is the scene of her birth, and its various rooms also represent formative stages
in her development. The study in which her father once closed himself off and in
which later Eutilia sickens and dies is also the setting for Roc í o ’ s dream - dance of life.
At age 13, Roc í o dreams of dancing naked, her lithe and youthful body juxtaposed
with the weak, decaying body of her aunt. The triptych of windows on the front door
allows her to view the neighborhood, including the sexualized and dangerous “ Down ”
the street; they also let her witness the approach of the handsome Eleiterio while she
is pressed to the door in her damp dress. In the fi nal tale, the house simultaneously
hosts both Salvador and Regino, Roc í o ’ s natural and surrogate fathers, setting the
stage for her acceptance of family bonds that extend beyond bloodlines.
Thematic elements also knit these tales into a single work of art. The values and
confl icts of Chicanoism inform many of these pieces in rather complex ways. For
example, in “ Space Is a Solid, ” Roc í o experiences prejudice because of her background,
386
Karen Weekes
but in “ The Last of the Menu Girls ” and “ Compadre ,
” Esperanza and Salvador, respec-
tively, exhibit the same oppressive attitudes toward their fellow Mexican Americans.
The values of this ethnicity fi gure prominently as well: Catholicism, the importance
of the family, and the maintenance of community.
Issues that pertain specifi cally to females also appear throughout the text. One is
women ’ s romantic vulnerability: Nieves is widowed and divorced, Diana is betrayed,
and Roc í o is neglected by Loudon. Ideals perish quickly and can doom women to a
hardscrabble life, especially in Diana ’ s case. When Braulia leaves Regino, she takes
the children with her, and when Salvador and Nieves divorce, she also is left to rear
Mercy and Roc í o. Neither man is portrayed as being lonely for the family he lost;
Regino fi nds “ peace ” in his solitude, and Salvador comes and goes as he pleases,
oftentimes bringing laundry for his ex - wife to wash. Nieves, on the other hand, must
balance her “ furious, bitter hopes ” with the demands of rearing her daughters, working
full - time as a teacher, and contributing her energies in the community.
Other gynocentric aspects of the novel include an emphasis on women ’ s bodies,
both in health and in sickness. Sex is taboo because of Catholic and Hispanic strictures
on female sexuality. “ Shooting Stars ” personifi es the madonna – whore complex in the
characters of Eloisa and Diana; Roc í o rejects Eloisa for her licentiousness, but Diana ’ s
purity is ultimately of little consolation. Neither option seems viable, resulting in a
confusion that could explain the curious lack of description of Roc í o ’ s own sexual
awakenings or activities.
Bodily awareness also requires an identifi cation with the frailties of human fl esh,
vividly depicted in the title story through Nieves ’ s experiences with Do ñ a Mercedes ’ s
cancerous back. The caregiving role assigned to females is pervasive in this text, as
Nieves cares for Braulia ’ s family, including the lone Regino, and all of the aides and
nurses in Altavista Memorial Hospital are women. In “ The Last of the Menu Girls, ”
Elizabeth Rainey stirs Roc í o ’ s longings to help others who suffer, but Roc í o is unable
to penetrate the mystery surrounding the woman ’ s “ D and C ” or her pain; sexuality
becomes confl ated with suffering, confi rming in the physical what Diana, Nieves, and
Roc í o all experience in the emotional realm.
Although there are many unifying elements in this work, it still resists classifi ca-
tion as a novel; this categorization would sublimate the strength of the parts to the
force of the total work, and the short story cycle rests on a tension between the pieces
and the whole rather than a focus on one at the expense of the other. Its non - linear
chronology is only one of several reasons why its form is more cyclical than novelistic.
Another is the disjunctive nature of the episodes; none resolves a situation that has
been established in another tale. Instead each stands as a complete and independent
narrative. The fl uctuation in characters also indicates its fragmentary structure; Kari
Lee Wembley, Josie, and others who have made a signifi cant impact on Roc í o ’ s life
disappear at the end of their tales without a trace or an explanation.
The fractured form of The Last of the Menu Girls perfectly suits its thematic focus
on the myriad infl uences and decisions that Roc í o must confront. Just as the text
unifi es the tales into a whole that depicts Roc í o ’ s multi - faceted character, she strives
Denise
Chávez
387
throughout to integrate her experiences into a cohesive identity. She moves away from
the magical realism that dominates stories of her youth, such as “ The Closet, ” and
focuses her imagination instead on her writing. This shift refl ects a willingness to
move from childhood fantasy into the actuality of maturity.
The Last of the Menu Girls is a semi - autobiographical work, arcing into the surreal
at the same time as it depicts some of Ch á vez ’ s own family structures, ethnic and class
diffi culties, and struggles to individuate and become a writer. The short story cycle
is an appropriate form for presenting the multifaceted self, whether purely fi ctional
or based in fact (a mode exemplifi ed by Maxine Hong Kingston ’ s The Woman Warrior ).
Examples of this genre have certainly proliferated alongside the expansion of the liter-
ary canon, and many have been written by male and female members of American
ethnic groups. Margot Kelley notes that in Ann Morris and Maggie Dunn ’ s list of
almost 400 composite novels published between 1820 and 1993, over half have been
published since 1966. She estimates that “ about 75 percent of the current writers are
women, ” and “ during the last fi fteen years … the authorship of composite novels has
disproportionately included women who live in positions of ‘ double marginality ’ as
members of visible minorities and/or as lesbians. ” 2 The number of cycles in the late
twentieth century has increased dramatically, but the range of the genre has as well,
as authors of various ethnicities use this fl exible form to explore the challenges of their
cultures.
Notes
1
The word “ Chicano ” is used to represent
the sixties and the times of the Chicano move-
Mexican Americans of both sexes; if there is a
ment ” (Ikas 10).
contrast being made between males and 2
Margot Kelley examines trends in the author-
females, however, “ Chicano ” refers to the males
ship of contemporary short story cycles in two
while “ Chicana ” refers to females. Ch á vez iden-
signifi
cant articles,
“
A Minor Revolution:
tifi es herself as Latina and Chicana. She says
Chicano/a Composite Novels and the Limits of
that the latter term “ implies that you identify
Genre, ” 63; and “ Gender and Genre: The Case
with the political and societal reality of what
of the Novel - in - Stories, ” 296.
it means to be a Chicano/a which goes back to
References and Further Reading
Anzald ú a , Gloria . Borderlands/La Frontera: The New
Dunn , Maggie , and Ann Morris . The Composite
Mestiza . 1987 . 2nd edn. San Francisco : Aunt
Novel: The Short Story Cycle in Transition . New
Lute Books , 1999.
York : Twayne , 1995 .
Anzald ú a , Gloria , ed. Making Face, Making Soul:
Eysturoy , Annie O. Daughters of Self - Creation:
Haciendo Caras . San Francisco : Aunt Lute Books ,
The Contemporary Chicana Novel . Albuquerque :
1990 .
University of New Mexico Press , 1996 .
Ch á vez , Denise . The Last of the Menu Girls .
— — — . “ Denise Ch á vez . ” This Is About Vision:
Houston : Arte P ú blico Press , 1986 .
Interviews with Southwestern Writers . Eds. William
388
Karen Weekes
Balassi , John F. Crawford , and Annie O. Eys-
Ethnicity in the American Short Story . Ed. Julie
turoy . Albuquerque : University of New Mexico
Brown . New York : Garland , 1997 . 63 – 84 .
Press , 1990 . 156 – 69 .
Moraga , Cherr í e , and Gloria Anzald ú a , eds. This
Huf , Linda . A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical
Woman: The Writer as Heroine in American Litera-
Women of Color . 1981 . 2nd edn. New York :
ture . New York : Ungar , 1983 .
Kitchen Table Press , 1983 .
Ikas , Karin . “ Denise Ch á vez, Las Cruces, New
Nagel , James . The Contemporary American Short
-
Mexico in Interview with Karin Ikas, W
ü
rz-
Story Cycle: The Ethnic Resonance of Genre .
burg . ” Anglistik 9 ( 1998 ): 7 – 20 .
Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press ,
Kelley , Margot . “ Gender and Genre: The Case of
2001 .
the Novel - in - Stories . ” American Women Short Rivero , Eliana S. “ The ‘ Other ’ s Others ’ : Chicana Story Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays . Ed.
Identity and Its Textual Expressions . ” Encounter-
Julie Brown . New York : Garland , 1995 .
ing the Other(s): Studies in Literature, History, and
295 – 310 .
Culture . Ed. Gisela Brinkler - Gabler . Albany :
— — — . “ A Minor Revolution: Chicano/a Com-
State University of New York Press
,
1995
.
posite Novels and the Limits of Genre
. ”
239 – 60 .
Part IV
Expansive Considerations
25
Landscape as Haven in American
Women ’ s Short Stories
Leah B. Glasser
In The Land of Little Rain , Mary Austin said that “ to understand the fashion of any
life, one must know the land it is lived in ” ( Land 93). To express the essence of their
identities as women, some of the most important American women authors of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries turned to landscape writing, producing
vivid portraits of the deserts, islands, villages, prairies, and forests of the United
States. 1 The genre of the short story, with its emphasis on a single, compressed effect,
was particularly useful for women writers who were working to provide a fresh lens
A Companion to the American Short Story Page 84