Here are some questions you can respond to to get you started thinking about our discussion of “Woman Hollering Creek” and “The Husband Stitch”:
- Discuss Mexican telenovelas and the story of La Llorona, places in which Cleófilas in “WHC” attains models of femininity. What does she learn from each kind of story? How do they affect her life? Perhaps compare the way stories shape feminine behavior in this story and in “The Husband Stitch.”
- What are we to think of Graciela and Felice in the story, the women who work at the pregnancy clinic? How are they different from Cleófilas? Does she learn anything from them? Do you read the end of the story as pessimistic or optimistic?
- Why do you think Machado includes all the stage directions in “The Husband Stitch”? What point do these serve in the story?
- Look at one or more of the specific urban legends that the narrator in “THS” tells. What do these stories seem to teach her about social mores, female behavior, or anything else?
- “The Husband Stitch” is a strongly sexual story. What did you think about this aspect of the story? Was there anything interesting or unusual about the story’s presentation of sexuality?
- What do you think the ribbon represents in the story?
For the entire duration of “The Husband Stitch” the imagery of our protagonist’s green ribbon loomed over me. It distracted me heavily on my first read. I couldn’t begin to understand why this ribbon tied around her neck was such a crucial part to her character. Why no one around her seemed to acknowledge it, except when her husband does. I found the way in which her husband sought after this ribbon of hers to be extremely unnerving. He is pushy and prods her constantly through the duration of their relationship. It is glaringly obvious that she wishes for him to leave her and her ribbon be, but she knows it will never be that easy. Her true sense of self will always be wanted by him as a way to control her and take possession. Upon their first meeting he goes to grab it and she quickly diverts the situation by stating that, “It’s just my ribbon” (Machado 4). This sense of unimportance rang ingenuine and intrigued me further. As the story progresses their relationship grows stronger and he becomes increasingly more possessive and abusive at times. It is the one piece of herself that he cannot grasp fully (metaphorically and physically). He’s able to take control of her in her most vulnerable state by requesting the “husband stitch,” yet he is completely unaware of the importance of her ribbon and what it means to her. Over time, her son tries similarly to touch and remove the ribbon out of curiosity and we still never see a woman inquire. This is just another scene portraying the difference between what men and women desire in regards to knowledge. Finally, our protagonist grows weak and allows her husband to grasp at the ribbon as she is once again vulnerable one night while they’re having sex. He pulls the ribbon, finally so proud he is able to, and her head falls right off. Her ribbon being the last strand of self she had, and he ultimately unraveled her. Therefore, the ribbon symbolizes the true essence of herself.
The amount of sexually explicit content in the husband stitch is a nod to the fact that her husband largely sees her as a sexual object. Their relationship truly centers around sex, and this can be shown by the sheer amount of sex throughout the story. A perfect example of this right after she gives birth. She had a seemingly problematic birth, and right after their son is born, her husband makes the comment to the doctor asking him to add a husband stitch when administering her stitches. Even during her this vulnerable and beautiful time, sex is still on her husbands mind. When she is questioning her feelings toward another woman, she is hesitant to confide in her husband, but proceeds to do so. He turns this into a sexual fantasy instead of hearing her out. She is largely a sexual object to her husband.