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Written by Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya (1937-2020), Serafina's Stories (2004) is much like a Southwestern retelling of One Thousand and One Nights, the collection of Middle Eastern folktales often referred to as The Arabian Nights in English.Serafina, a young indigenous girl, is captured along with eleven companions and accused of plotting…
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenWritten by Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya (1937-2020), Serafina's Stories (2004) is much like a Southwestern retelling of One Thousand and One Nights, the collection of Middle Eastern folktales often referred to as The Arabian Nights in English.
Serafina, a young indigenous girl, is captured along with eleven companions and accused of plotting a rebellion against the Spanish colonial government. Serafina makes a deal with the Governor of New Mexico: she will tell him A Story, and if the tale pleases him, he will release one of the prisoners.
Night after night, Serafina tells the Governor cuentos, or stories, that have been passed down for generations and are now retold in a Southwestern setting with the influence of Native American folktales.
Serafina's stories often strike a deep cord with the Governor, making him think about his role in the colonial effort, the erasure of indigenous culture, and the power of storytelling to bring seemingly different people together.
Serafina's Stories begins in 1680 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is winter, and the Governor describes the dismal cold of winter and the dwindling spirits and supplies of the inhabitants as they await the spring caravans that will arrive from Mexico City.
Spanish colonists first arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598. The Pueblo Indians of the region were oppressed by the Spaniards and prohibited from practicing their traditional religion. They were also forced to work for the Spaniards in exchange for benefits such as education and military protection. In the 1670s, drought and famine increased the suffering of the Pueblo people, and they began to lose confidence in the Spanish government and returned to their old gods and way of life.
In 1680, the Pueblo Indians revolted against the colonial government and forced the Spaniards out of New Mexico. The area was reconquered in 1692-93, but the returning colonists allowed the Pueblo to maintain their way of life, and the two sides managed to coexist more peacefully than before.
The Governor describes the building tensions between the Spanish colonial government and the native Pueblo people. While the two cultures have learned to share many things and coexist peacefully to an extent, points of tension remain, including the Pueblos' religious practices, which the Catholic Church sees as pagan, and the tax of blankets and corn that leaves the Pueblos' supplies depleted for the long winter.
Serafina's Stories is set in Santa Fé, New Mexico. Pixabay.
On this particular January morning, a group of twelve Pueblo Indians was captured and imprisoned for plotting a rebellion. To the Governor's surprise, however, the twelfth prisoner is a beautiful young woman called Serafina.
It is decided that the prisoners will be charged with death or sold into slavery to work in the mines of Zacatecas. To the Pueblos, the latter seems a much worse punishment; it would mean they would never see their families or native lands again.
The Governor is quite taken with Serafina. He admires her bravery and poise, and when he begins talking to her, he learns she is a storyteller. He asks her to tell him A Story, and Serafina agrees on the condition that he will release one of the prisoners if he likes the story. The Governor agrees, confident that he will not lose, and Serafina begins her first cuento, "Juan del Oso."
The story is part of a group of folktales that the Governor has heard told his whole life. He has to admit that Serafina told the story well; he feels relaxed and sleeps better than he has in a long time. The following day, the Governor hesitates to keep his end of the bargain, worried about how it will look if he excuses one of the rebels. In the end, he relents and lets the man go home to his family, to the shock of all assembled.
That night, he risks the bet another time and sends for Serafina and another story. She tells "Miranda's Gift," a version of Cinderella, and the Governor is again enchanted.
After Serafina leaves, he dreams of her and wakes up imagining that Serafina could become the daughter he never had. He suddenly becomes anxious for Serafina's well-being in the cold jail with the other prisoners, and he orders a room be made up for her.
Serafina is moved out of the jail and into her own room because the Governor comes to think of her as his daughter. Pixabay.
The remaining prisoners are assembled, and the Governor pardons the next man. That night, Serafina returns to the Governor's quarters and tells "The Adventures of Pedro de Ordimalas," a story about the mischief of Pedro, a New Mexican picaro or trickster. When she finishes, the Governor is more taken with Serafina's storytelling ability than ever.
As Serafina makes to leave, the Governor bursts out with an unexpected question, asking the girl if he will ever live in peace. The two talk about the differences between the experiences of the Pueblo people and the Spanish colonists.
Serafina returns to her room, led by a young guard named Gasper, who admits to listening to her story outside the door. The two talk for a bit. Serafina explains that tricksters like Pedro also appear in her people's stories, and she tells Gasper about some of the hardships that the Pueblo people face.
The next day, the Governor frees the third prisoner, and at night, Serafina tells the story "Fabiano and Reyes." The story brings the Governor to tears, and he worries that Serafina might be a witch who is enchanting him. He sends the girl away and rushes to the church to summon Friar Tomás. He asks the friar to question Serafina for suspected witchcraft.
Friar Tomás goes to see Serafina. He is impressed by her prayers in perfect Spanish but confused and distressed that she still will not renounce her traditional beliefs. Either way, it is clear to him that she is not a witch, and he leaves. The Governor is ashamed and apologizes to Serafina.
The Governor awakes the next day and frees the fourth prisoner. That night Serafina tells "The Devil's Godchild." The story touches the Governor deeply again, and he wonders if perhaps Serafina is his guardian angel.
After she returns to her room, doña Ofelia visits Serafina with a mug of hot chocolate. The beverage is a delicacy among the Spanish people, and, initially, Serafina refuses to drink it, saying she will only have what the other prisoners can eat. Finally, however, doña Ofelia convinces her to enjoy the drink.
Doña Ofelia gives Serafina a mug of chocolate, an important drink for Aztec kings and now for the Spanish colonists. Pixabay.
The next prisoner is pardoned, and Serafina's next story is "Marcos and María." Afterward, the two talk about the meaning behind the story and how it might relate to the Governor's own path in life. When she returns to her room, Serafina is surprised by a visit from Capitán Márquez. He warns her that she is in danger and that some other colonists are becoming suspicious of her influence over the Governor. He worries that the Inquisition will come to question her and offers her a way to escape. But Serafina refuses to leave before the rest of her fellow prisoners are free.
The next evening Serafina tells the story "Two Compadres." When she finishes, they converse again and exchange their conflicting beliefs about governing the colony. Serafina says that her people are all but enslaved, but the Governor argues that the arrangement is necessary for the colony's survival.
The next night, he invites Serafina to eat with him, offering to send the same meal to the other prisoners as well. After dinner, she tells "The Tree That Sings," and the Governor feels that the evening has been perfect. Afterward, he asks Serafina why she tells Spanish stories, not those of her people. She reminds him that those stories are now forbidden, seen as pagan or the work of the devil.
That night, Serafina has another visitor, Friar Tomás, who repeats the warning of danger and the offer of escape. Serafina refuses a second time. The next story she tells is "The Native," and the Governor is interested that the story's protagonist is a Native American man. He invites Serafina to ride with him the next day, even though this will raise further questions among the townspeople about their relationship.
The next day, after pardoning the day's prisoner, the two go horseback riding. The Governor assures Serafina that she needn't worry, they will stay at a walking pace, but she soon proves herself to be an expert rider.
That night she tells "Belda and the Beast," and the following day, after the prisoner is pardoned, two friars inform Serafina and the Governor that Serafina must be taken away to be questioned by the Inquisition on suspicion of witchcraft. The Governor insists that Serafina remains his prisoner and, therefore, under his control. The friars agree to wait until after her trial to take her away.
The church believes Serafina is practicing witchcraft with her stories. Pixabay.
That night Serafina tells another story, "El Picaro," and she and the Governor discuss the possible symbolism in the story. After leaving the Governor's quarters, Gasper comes to see Serafina again. He proposes marriage, arguing that it would protect her from being taken by the Inquisition. Serafina gently turns him down.
The next evening, Serafina tells the last story, "The Native Lawyer," about a Native American man who successfully defends a man in court even though he is illiterate. The next morning is Serafina's trial. She opts to defend herself, and she talks of the history of her people and their commitment to their homeland. The Governor doesn't know what to do, and he fears letting Serafina fall into the hands of the Inquisition. He rules to keep her in his custody until her revolutionary ideas are no longer a threat.
The main literary device used in Serafina's Stories is framing. Rudolfo Anaya uses the story of Serafina and the Governor to frame the stories that Serafina tells. The novel is a collection of short stories that Serafina tells, contained within the larger story of the girl's capture, the relationship she builds with the Governor, and the conflict between indigenous and colonial cultures.
Serafina's Stories is often compared to One Thousand and One Nights, which similarly presents a collection of folktales framed within a larger story. While there are many versions of One Thousand and One Nights, the main storyline tells of a Sasanian king who listens to his new wife tell stories. Ever since discovering his former wife's infidelity and executing her, the king has married and executed a succession of virgins. However, his new wife's stories are so captivating that he cannot kill her. Like Serafina, the king's new wife tells stories that are often well known in their own right, such as "Aladdin."
Framing is a narrative technique where the writer frames one story within another.
Two key symbols in Serafina's Stories by Rudolfo Anaya are the colcha and hot chocolate. Both represent the exchange between indigenous and colonial cultures, although from different perspectives.
Throughout the novel, as she tells the Governor stories, Serafina works on stitching a colcha, a blanket with a traditional kind of embroidery. Spanish women introduced colcha embroidery to mend holes in blankets and clothing. The wool yarn was colored with dyes made from indigenous plants to create a style of embroidery that still exists today. Serafina's colcha symbolizes how the cultures combined to make something new.
In the evenings, doña Ofelia brings Serafina a mug of chocolate. In Aztec culture, chocolate was a highly significant food and drink consumed by kings and at important ceremonies.
So this was the drink of Aztec kings," she said. "It used to be," doña Ofelia said softly. "Now it is the drink of conquerors." -Chapter 11
It later became a delicacy for the Spanish colonists, and doña Ofelia tells Serafina that it takes months for the chocolate to arrive in Santa Fe from Mexico City. However, it has become so essential to the culture of the colonists that it makes the trip, symbolizing the exchange between the two cultures.
What do these two symbols say about why some things are accepted and adopted by opposing cultures while others are firmly resisted?
Two key themes in Rudolfo Anaya's Serafina's Stories are the loss of indigenous culture and the power of storytelling.
The loss of indigenous culture is one of the most important themes in Serafina's Stories. Through her stories and her conversations with the Governor, Serafina tells him how the imposition of Spanish colonial culture threatens the culture of the Pueblo people. The indigenous people are prohibited from telling their traditional stories and practicing their religion, putting their very identity as a culture at risk.
Serafina's stories have an undeniable power over the Governor. They have a physical effect on him, helping him to relax and sleep better at night, forgetting his responsibilities for a time. They also cause him to think more deeply about the culture of the Pueblo people, his own Spanish culture, and the unexpected commonalities between the two. Through Serafina's stories, the Governor begins to understand their shared humanity.
The novel also comments on the importance of storytelling as a part of cultural identity. Many of the stories that Serafina tells will be familiar to readers, retellings of classic fairytales that have been told and reinterpreted for countless generations. This tradition of European storytelling is contrasted against the Pueblo storytelling tradition, which is just as important to the culture's identity but is being lost under the pressure of the colonial government.
If a culture forgets the stories of its ancestors then it dies." -Chapter 17
How does the use of framing in the novel add to the theme of storytelling?
Through Serafina's stories, the Governor of Santa Fe begins to better understand the Pueblo people's struggles.
This sharing of the stories could be the best thing that has ever happened to us." -Chapter 19
In the above quote, Serafina has just told a story with a Pueblo protagonist, which never occurred to the Governor. He asks her if Spanish people make appearances in the Pueblo stories. Serafina tells them that they do, but not usually as heroes. This is a revelation for the Governor, but he has to admit that it makes sense.
'I cannot renounce my ancestors,' replied Serafina. 'I cannot renounce the cloud people who bring rain to our fields, or the Corn Mothers who sustain us. I have become a Catholic according to the teachings of the friars, but I keep the path of my people.'" -Chapter 21
In the above quote, two friars demand that Serafina renounce her traditional beliefs and accept the Catholic God as the only true God. Serafina refuses. She insists that she honors the Catholic God and saints because they are the colonists' ancestors, but that does not mean that she cannot still honor her own people and history.
'But you, and your people, have learned to live within our church. You have learned to use our language, our tools, and all of this has been to your benefit.'
'We have learned to survive,' Serafina answered, 'but our spirit cries for a renewal of our tradition.'" -Chapter 25
In the above quote, the Governor argues that the indigenous people have benefited from colonialism. They have gained the Catholic religion, Spanish language, and the colonists' tools, which he views as improvements over their former way of life. Serafina, however, argues that they adopted the ways of the Spanish people merely to survive, and in doing so, they lost their own traditions.
Serafina's exact age is unknown, but the Governor estimates her to be around fifteen years old.
Serafina's Stories is about the importance of storytelling and the loss of indigenous culture.
Serafina's Stories was written by Rudolfo Anaya.
Framing is the most prominent literary device in Serafina's Stories.
Serafina's Stories is a collection of short stories framed within another, longer story.
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SIGNUP SIGNUPFlashcards in Serafina's Stories15
Start learningWho wrote Serafina's Stories?
Rudolfo Anaya
What are Serafina and her comrades accused of?
Plotting rebellion against the colonial government.
What is NOT a key theme in Serafina's Stories?
The power of love
What is NOT a key symbol in Serafina's Stories?
Horses
What literary device does Rudolfo Anaya use in Serafina's Stories?
Framing
In what year does Serafina's Stories take place?
1680
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