Silence: An Exploration of Forceful Silence in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic
From the Desk of Lucy GouldAbstract
Small details are the lifeblood of literature. They have the ability to point to larger details about the story as a whole. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia has many such small details. The following paper will explore the silence of the novel as a small detail that contributes to the story as if it is a character itself. Silence will be explored in literary, patriarchal, historical, and religious contexts. Over the course of the book, the house in which Noemí is staying thrives on the rule of silence. The rule of silence stifles the freedom of those living in the house which points to the larger issues of silencing women in history. The phrase “women are better seen and not heard” is exemplified and subverted in this novel, especially through the use of silence.
Silence: An Exploration of Forceful Silence in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic
The phrase “women are better seen and not heard” can be traced all the way back to its iteration in the Bible: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:12). It is a phrase that is quite common and has numerous different iterations. With historical, religious, and cultural implications, this phrase is a part of many women’s childhoods and adulthoods. So it comes as no surprise that it appears as a theme in literature throughout history. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic is no exception despite the phrase not appearing explicitly in the novel. Taking place in 1950s Mexico, this novel explores dark themes of colonialism and sexism with the backdrop genre of gothic fantasy. Honing in on the theme of sexism, this essay will explore silence in Mexican Gothic as it is used and treated in order to point to larger details about the novel itself.
Silence is so crucial to the novel itself that the characters incorporate silence into their code of conduct. When Noemí tries to strike a lively conversation during dinner she is quickly shut down and informed that no one “talk[s] during dinner” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 28). It is a rule to be obeyed because silence is appreciated “in the house” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 28). The silence rules over those at dinner, a dark cloud over the table. This rule is the most obvious instance of silence as a means for control because Noemí is quite literally being told to be quiet. Still, Noemí persists in trying to start a conversation so Howard “overtakes the house rule of silence at dinner and instead engages in a conversation specifically with Noemí” (Quensen, Pg. 8). During this conversation he attempts to “assert… his dominance” by insulting Noemí heritage (Quensen, Pg. 8). He makes the conversation personal and cruel, progressively getting worse. Because Noemí is not backing down when she’s initially told about the rule of silence, Howard takes it upon himself to force her into silence with harsh and uncomfortable conversation. He shows that he is not above imposing the silence through demonstrations of power. Achieving silence once ensures an easier time achieving silence again later in the novel.
Yet, it is not only the people in the house that are silent, there is an atmosphere of silence to be found. It is remarkable to Noemí when she hears a “clock mark… the hour” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 256) because “the magic rule of silence” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 256) is a lingering presence, a character in its own right. The clock breaks that silence, making the marking of the passage of time even more significant. How silent does some place have to be for a chime of a clock to be noticeable? The detail of the clock marking the passage of time creates a more gothic atmosphere and puts readers more on edge for what is to come. There is not even any music to be found in the house but there was no “radio or even an old gramophone” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 38), not even a piano. Even music is forbidden in the house, the rule of silence extending beyond mere conversation. This is odd because owning a piano would have been considered a sign of a high social status in the early 1900s. The Doyle family makes a statement by valuing silence more than a physical example of their wealth and social connections. While the family is considered to be isolated, they are still known in social circles so it can be assumed that they possessed social connections. Not possessing either a piano or a gramophone must be a conscious decision in direct rebellion against cultural norms. This decision contradicts the idea that the Doyle family are traditionalists. It shows that they value silence much more than social tradition.
The silence is critical to the control the men have over the women in the house, especially Noemí. As we see in the physical manifestation of the locked windows, “the Doyle family perceive[s] her as a woman who must be tamed and contained” (Ortega, Pg. 311). While not verbally silencing Noemí, the locked windows present a very real inability for her to leave the manor. By extension, this act silences Noemí from getting help by sneaking out. The locked windows also prevent her from getting away with smoking in her room, her main act of rebellion against society. A second physical manifestation of the control of silence appears in regard to Agnes’s lack of face. This lack of face denies Agnes her individuality and “contributes not only to Agnes’s struggle to communicate with Noemí, but also to her loss of identity.” (Ortega, Pgs. 312-313). Faces are crucial to one’s individuality and to quite literally remove someone's face steals their identity. Agnes is silenced, reduced to be just another person in the crowd, so to speak. She is unable, even, to communicate with those around her because of this theft of her face.
We also see the silence and control come in during an unwanted sexual encounter with Virgil while Noemí bathes in a dream-like state. As he approaches her, he tells her that there is “no need to speak, no need to move” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 182). He wants her to be a “good girl” and obey him, to take what he gives her and not complain (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 182). He wants her silent and willing, the image of a perfect woman. During this encounter, Noemí is under the influence of the mushrooms and finds herself literally unable to disobey Virgil’s commands so while she thinks that “she was going to yell at him and cover herself” (Moreno-Garcia, 182), “physically she does nothing” (Ortega, Pg. 315). Virgil exercises control over Noemí using the mushrooms but also by physically silencing her. He initially tells her to not speak, then he kisses her. By kissing her, he takes away her voice, her ability to scream because all noises would be muffled by his mouth on hers. Even if Noemí hadn’t been under the influence of the mushrooms, she would not have been able to call out for help because she was effectively gagged. She was trapped.
It can also be theorized that Noemí wouldn’t have objected to Virgil as aggressively as she wished had she not been under the influence of the mushrooms because of her fear of not being taken seriously because of her gender. She has an intense desire to be liked because “a woman who is not liked is a bitch, and a bitch can hardly do anything: all avenues are closed to her” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 58). She is afraid of the repercussions of her actions, even when she confronts Virgil after she wakes from the dream-like state induced by the mushrooms she is silent about what she really saw and experienced. She is also convinced that what she experienced was a dream and therefore she would have no reason to go after Virgil for what he did to her. She does not stand up for herself. Noemí tiptoes around topics and never really voices her concerns because she fears not being taken seriously or being seen as a “bitch”. Historically, sexual assault has been used to silence women under the pretense of not being believed. There is an intense stigma around coming forward about sexual assault in the twenty-first century, let alone in the 1950s. Fear consumes Noemí into being silent. And silence is used to control Noemí and force her to submit her body to assault.
Thinking in a historical context, “femininity [is seen in this time period] as a monstrous entity… that women must be protected from tapping into by God and the men in their life” (Vega, Pg. 36). Meaning that to be a woman is to be a monster and that the men in their life must protect them from their feminine tendencies, likely hysteria and seduction. Women are viewed as consumed by “hysteria due to their condition as mothers” (Vega, Pg. 36). This concept plays out in the novel through Catalina. The entire house views her as hysterical and when Noemí tries to bring their attention to Catalina, she is quickly silenced and told that Catalina is perfectly well. Noemí is gaslighted into believing that Catalina is simply hysterical because she is a woman and that is just how women are. Now of course everyone but Noemí and Catalina know that it is the mushrooms’ effects, yet still, this dismissal and silencing of Catalina’s very real illness is a result of the dismissal of women due to the belief of the commonality of hysteria. Catalina, a married woman, does not take to the mushroom’s control as the Doyle family hopes she will so in a way they abandon her. Instead they look to Noemí to take her place.
Silence is also an important function in a religious context. There are parallels between the house and a church with servants being compared to “unwilling nuns who had made vows of silence” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 105). This comparison is an odd one, especially with the description of “unwilling”. Like Noemí, the servants don’t want to be quiet but they have been forced into it. The comparison to nuns is also striking because it elevates the Doyles to a god-like level since nuns take vows to serve God and the servants serve the Doyles. It creates an image of the Doyles being untouchable, the silence being their tool of enforcement. Religion is also brought up more directly with Noemí’s private Catholic education. During this education Noemí “learned rebellion while muttering the rosary” (Moreno-Garcia, Pg. 23). This education “in context of her Indigenous identity also alludes to the rebelliousness to fully assimilate a colonial religion” (Vega, Pg. 30). It is an attempted silencing of her heritage that Noemí resists. Noemí is given what can be considered a good education while simultaneously being taught that her heritage is something to be ashamed of. Her resistance to being silenced begins during this education where she learns how to quietly rebel. This resistance carries itself through the novel, even to the end where Noemí bravely tries to destroy the mushrooms and mold by setting fire to the manor. Noemí takes back her narrative and pushes through the wall of silence built by the Doyles. She puts her history of rebellion to good use.
Throughout Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel, Mexican Gothic, silence is used as a tool for control over those residing in the Doyle manor. Through various lenses such as literary, patriarchal, historical, and religious, the theme of sexism shines through. Despite this book being set in Mexico in the 1950s, readers can see the world reflected in our modern society. It is a grim warning to us all of the dangers of letting oneself be silenced. Women are meant to be both seen and heard, just as much as men are. Women should not be afraid to take up space and to demand that their voices be heard.
Bibliography
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