Judith Ortiz Cofer's autobiographical work, Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood, is a collection of essays and of poems from Cofer's childhood memories. Cofer specifically comments on the impact his family in Puerto Rico and the United States had on his literary work and identity. In A Partial Memory of a Puerto Rican Childhood, Cofer remembers the women in his family gathering for the afternoon storytelling ritual during café con leche. Cofer's grandmother, Mama, tells the embellished story of the town character, Maria La Loca, who went mad after being left at the altar. It is a cautionary tale intended to serve as a lesson to younger generations to be wary of love. The main focus of the essay lies on Mama's powerful influence and expectations surrounding women and their ultimatum to fulfill the role of ideal housewife, which Judith seems to resist. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the story, Mama represents the powerful influence of traditional society that surrounds the women in Judith's family. Judith describes Mama as the “matriarchal power” (Ortiz Cofer, 805) who commanded and held everyone’s attention. This signifies the strong and commanding voice that Mama possesses over the younger generation of women. The cautionary coentos are intended to “teach each other…what it’s like to be a woman, specifically a Puerto Rican woman.” (804) The story of Maria La Loca is for Mom's youngest daughter, Laura, who is recently engaged. Dismayed are many mothers who “expressed serious doubts…she believed that marriage was not something men desired but simply the price they paid for the privilege of children” (805). This insistence that Mom has been hardened to love and doesn't trust men's intentions. thus tells the story of Maria deceived and ruined by a crook. Additionally, Mom braiding Judith's hair is a symbol of her construction of a proper woman, which fits the reasoning behind her embellished story. “…the cunetos are forever woven into the fabric of my imagination, braided like my hair that day” (807) “We understood that neither the facts nor the details were important, only that a woman had left love conquers her. » (807) This suggests that Mom and the women of the family view love as a kind of weakness to be fought against and distrusted. Furthermore, Mom's strong influence on her daughters and granddaughters is illustrated by Cofer: "the moral tales told by the woman in our family for generations...became a part of my subconscious and then surfaced in my dreams and in my poetry” (805). the power of Mom's words and their lasting impact on their perception of what a woman is supposed to be. Mom asserts her expectations of those close to her, carefully crafting uplifting stories in the hopes that they will stay true to themselves as a Puerto Rican woman. Women in the family are pressured to fulfill the role of ideal homemakers. First, Maria is described as “…a beautiful girl, everyone thought she would marry…the richest man in town.” (806) He emphasizes how external beauty will guarantee a rich husband. Cofer further explores the pressures placed on young women to marry into a respected family by illustrating Judith's mother as being an "unblemished lamb, who had been accepted into a good family." (806) Her purity and the beauty of Maria.