Blog Post #3

 I really enjoyed our talks on Malintzin, as well as the book excerpt we read. I find it super interesting that someone who played such a vital role in helping the Spanish communicate with the natives is rarely mentioned in Spanish historical records, as well as our history books. It's also fascinating to me how, to some, Malintzin has taken on a mythological meaning. It's interesting to see the two opposing views on a crucial interpreter. Many of the Spanish chose to omit or ignore her role, but some of the natives embellished her tale to make her into a god-like being. Overall, though, I found Malintzin's tale to be very interesting, but sad at the same time because of the life she was forced to live. Given the circumstances she was placed in and the role she had to fill, the choices she made are very understandable. Many times people like to think that if they had been in that situation, they would have done differently, when in reality, they probably wouldn't have.

Comments

  1. Ella CarrSeptember 16, 2021 at 6:15 PM

    Hi Joe! I really enjoyed our discussion and reading the excerpt as well. This was the first time I had heard Malintzin’s name or any information about an indigenous woman acting as a translator. This is the first time I have read personal details about the life of an indigenous woman from Latin America. Malintzin was incredibly intelligent and I agree, she made a lot of understandable choices given her situation. She or any other woman in her situation would have been given back to another Spanish man if she had not been able to translate and mediate as she was expected to.

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  2. Madelyn StembolSeptember 16, 2021 at 8:48 PM

    I completely agree. It is so sad that she was forced to live the life she did, and then be given minimal credit for her contributions by the Spanish. She made a hugely significant impact, despite the people who decided her story was not worth telling. Even though she eventually became revered by the native peoples, they were still the ones who enslaved her in the first place, so I understand why she had little interest in siding with them. If she had never stepped forward to translate, she would have always been just a slave, even to her own people. She chose to make the most of her situation.

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  3. Professor StarkSeptember 21, 2021 at 1:44 PM

    Thank you, Joe, for the post. I agree that Malintzin is an important historical figure that doesn't receive the attention she deserves. I like what you wrote about how the Spanish ignore her but the indigenous hold her in high regard. You left me wanting to read more about the difficult choices Malintzin and why she may have made them.

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