An Analysis of Ninotchka Rosca's Generations

Theme

The themes of this story are:

1. Patriarchy and dehumanization of women.
   1. Examples
      1. The mother’s rights are violated despite being very helpful for the male characters.
      2. Gendered violence
         1. No one cared about the grandmother’s death except the mom, which is ironic cause she is the daughter-in-law and not related by blood.
         2. mother and daughter being beaten
         3. The dad didn’t care after possibly discovering that his daughter was raped. After discovering his daughter’s injury, he tries to bring up the story of how he met her mom, which might imply how normalized gendered violence was in their society.
            1. Maybe the dad cares but tries to remain stoic? or is maybe desensitized?
      3. Father hears daughters screams but dismisses it as a bat
   2. What the author says about the theme
      1. To come of age—through violence—is to become aware of being a victim. Hence, the father was murdered.
      2. Radical treatment might warrant a radical response.
2. Feudalism.¹
   1. Hierarchy
      1. The farmers have less rights despite providing a lot to the landlords.
         1. One of the dad’s issues is the curfew and restrictions on drinking for farmers who worked hard during harvest season. That was the thing he was complaining about laws.
         2. The dad had issues with martial law
   2. Landholder’s exploitation of their tenants
      1. The daughter is close to reaching the certain age that allows her to work for the landlord—indentured.
      2. Massacre of the working class or peasants.
      3. Creates frustrations and downfalls for the marginalized.
         1. This problem also affects the working class in a way that it also bleeds into their own families. The unjustified beatings that the father/grandfather received is applied to other members of the family. Violence and negative effects of feudalism is infectious.
      4. Hard work goes to the landlord.

Symbolism

1. Flies
   1. Feudalism and patriarchy may look promising, however, they are misleading and are actually disgusting. Make sure that they do not pass on to the newer generation, because as soon as you let them settle, they will lay eggs and breed maggots.
2. Talking between Selo—speechless—and mother
   1. Role reversal. Man or older generation is speechless, why the mother—woman and younger generation—is the one giving the advice. (not sure)
3. Dad sees the daughter as a bat
   1. Wakes up at the darkest truth
   2. There’s a common view associating men with the day and women with night
4. Siblings bathing at the canal
   1. The new generation will wash off the sins of the past and end the cycle of patriarchy.
5. Mimosa flower
   1. Might represent women. Looks defenseless but will prepare thorns at the right moment.
6. Rotting life
   1. The death of something bad will bring something good (corpse will bring flowers?)
7. Cleaning the rotting corpse of the father
   1. Like baptism?

Footnotes

1. “Bloch, maintained that nearly every medieval historian understands and defines feudalism as he/she pleases. Economic historians, for example, place great emphasis on the exploitation of land and tenants by landholding classes. Social historians examine the dependency on vassalage and the fief. Constitutional historians study the exaction of taxes and the enforcement of the law. For others, the term has become synonymous with tyranny and oppression.” ↩