MACHISMO AS SEEN THROUGH MARIA IRENE FORNES’
THE CONDUCT OF LIFE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DIAMANTINO JOSIMAR NETO DE HANJAN SOARES
Student Number: 084214068
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LESTTERS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature is a written work that contains imaginative, creative and inventive values and it may come in a form of poem, novel, and short story. This written works mainly reflect on things that human being have such as emotions, conflicts, and other regular things people have to go through in their daily lives. This is why literature is very interesting because it replicates people’s daily lives into a piece of art.
A play or drama is a form of literary worksin which author uses to transmit their messages to the audiences or the readers. A drama in its own way is different from other forms of literary work because it represents reality by
bringing life to its “fictional universe” with real human beings as actors or actress
that represent the characters in the story (Barranger, 1994:339). In Merriam
Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature drama is defined as:
when they perform their part of the story. These two points are some of the basis that strengthen the messages in a play and separate a play from any other work of literature.
The goal of this study is to further explore and to have better understanding on the concept of machismo by looking through Maria Irene
Fornes’ The Conduct of Life. Machismo is a gender issue that people have in
Latin America, as it is also part of their patriarchal culture where man are expected to be oppressive, violent and superior in many aspects compare to female.
Machismo can be seen as an ordinary or common state of mind in Latin
America’s culture. Latinos are always expected to display their“conventional
However, from the previous justification about sexism in Latin America’s
culture it can also be said that the privileges which Latinos gained from sexism
come with high price. Machismo will encourage men to “engage in high risk
behaviors such as smoking, consuming alcohol or getting into fight” (Arciniega,
2008:1). In other words, sometimes masculinity can cloud people’s judgment in
making decision about things in their lives. With those aggressive behaviors and tendency to have control over other people, one may lose the opportunities to build intimacy and trust with other people, and may damage bond that they already have in their lives.
In this study, the writer attempts to see how the concept of machismo affects man who usually thrives on the idea of being macho. People usually look at the issue of machismo from the point of view of women as the victim but in this study it is going to be from the point of view of men. This is one of the reasons why the writer chooses to explore the concept of machismo in Maria
Irene Fornes’ The Conduct of Life. The Conduct of Life is a feminist play set in
also another male character in this play called Alejo. Alejo is a friend and a colleague of Orlando from the military but he is the opposite of Orlando in term of personalities (Barranger, 1994: 648-649).
This play shows not only women who are affected by machismo but man as the penetrator as well. Orlando, as the man of his household, is entrapped in the concept of ideal man where he cannot afford to not succeed. As a man, Orlando needs to meet these requirements of machismo. In this thesis the writer wants to explore the characteristics of each male character and how machismo is portrayed through each character in this play.
B. Problem Formulation
Considering the background of this study, the problems are formulated into the following questions:
1. How are Orlando and Alejo described?
2. How do the characters perceive the concept of machismo?
C. Objectives of the Study
D. Definition of Term
The word machismo comes from a Spanish word “macho” is translated by
Arturo Cuyas as “vigorous, robust; male,” this term is used to describe a male
who displays standard masculine characteristics (1940: 315). Alan Bullock
defines machismo as “the cult of virility in Latin America” (1977: 362), which
6
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
The Conduct of Life is a feminist play by Maria Irene Fornes’ that portray
how gender roles can affect both female and male. This play also attracts many people to study, criticize and perform it. In this part of the study, the writer reviews a number of studies which related to this play and machismo.
The Conduct of Life is also discussed by Richard Christiansen in his article
entitled “Conduct of Life’ Peels Layers of Pain.” In his article Richard
Christiansen compared The Conduct of Life to another play entitled The Danube and stated that The Conduct of Life is “more melodramatic” than The Danube. One of his reasons for saying that is he thinks Fornes give Orlando too many negative characteristics in order to bring out his darker personality that will oppress and dominates other characters in this play. (articles.chicagotribune.com, 5th August 2012)
In Lusiana Widjaya’s thesis “Endless Chain of Tyranny by Victimization
as Seen in Maria Irene Fornes’ The Conduct of Life”point out that women will
always be the victim of the patriarchal system in which dominated by men and as
she clearly stated that “the patriarchy system gives bad impact and causes a
statement about woman as the victims of this system but in this study the writer argue that men can also be the victim of the patriarchy system which is dominated by men themselves.
However, this thesis is different from the thesis done by Lusiana. The differences can be found in the topic of the analysis and the perspective or point of view in exploring this gender issue. In her thesis, Lusiana mentioned a number
of points concerning machismo but she has done it through woman’s perspective
and the impacts it had on them. In this thesis the writer tries to explore the concept of machismo by looking through the eyes of men and their struggle to cope with machismo as a Latino. Unlike Christiansen’s article that only discussed the negative characteristics of machismo. In this thesis, the writer also talks about the positive side of machismo.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory on Character
This thesis explore the characteristics of male characters in this play and for that reason the writer needs theories of character and characterization.
According to Thomas R. Arp character is an element that makes a drama
different to other kind of literature because a play delivers “its action through the
actors and its effect is direct, immediate and heightened by the actor’s skills”
(2009: 1023).
Hans P. Guth stated that there are nine ways to evaluate a key character in a play. First of all is to look for quotes from the dialogue that may reveal things about the character. The second way is to take into account things that other character says about each other. The third way is to concentrate on situations where a character is forced to make a stand or decisions. The fourth way is to pay
attention at “the character’s behavior in revealing situations.” The fifth is the
gesture of the character. The sixth is to be objective or put away your own emotion in evaluating a character. The seventh is to pay attention at the initial descriptions about a character. The eighth way is to listen carefully to
self-revelations of the character in the “soliloquies” or monologue. The last way is
Milly S. Barranger points out that analyzing a character in drama are always based on a character’s physical appearance, behavior, speech. Barranger formulated four approaches that can be used in analyzing a character. First, observe what the author say about a character in stage directions. Second, observe what the characters say about each other. Third, note the character’s physical and
psychological characteristics. Fourth, interpret the character’s moral or ethical
choices that determine a character’s destine in the play (1994:339).
2. Theory of Gender Roles
According to Macionis the term gender refers to “the social aspects of
differences and hierarchies between male and female” and gender role indicates
“learningand performing the socially accepted characteristics for a given gender”
(2002:289-290). Kimmel stated “gender is not simply a system of classification by which biological males and females are sorted, separated, and socialized into
equivalent sex roles” (2000:1).
Oakley outlines four ways in the socialization of gender roles such as manipulation, canalization, verbal appellations and activities. Children are manipulated by their parents to be aware of themselves, like how girls supposed to dress. Canalization in this case means that parents can direct the children about
their roles through objects such as toys. Verbal appellation such as “you’re a
naughty boy” or “that’s a good girl” are expressions which parent can use to
address their children in attempt to socializing gender roles to the children
because these words can “lead young children to identify with their gender and to
imitate adults of the same gender.” Children can also learn to imitate their roles as
a boy or a girl through the activities they are exposed to, as example boys are usually encouraged to fix their bicycle then to learn cooking. (1972: 531-532)
3. Theory on Machismo
Alison M. Scott defines machismo as “an ideology of masculinity which
emphasizes male dominance and virility. It defines relations between men
(aggression, honour, pride) as well as men’s behavior towards women (sexual
conquest, jealousy, possessiveness).” Scott also added that machismo is supported
by “patrilineal kinship system” which is like a “legal system” that gives Latinos
the liberty to do whatever they desire (1997: 74-75). From Scott’s theories it can be said that machismo is like a doctrine that gives every Latinos the upper hand in their society.
Julio Angulo’s master thesis sees machismo as a “psychological defense
mechanism.” In other words, the aggressiveness that Latinos display may be just
an act which triggered by their own vulnerability. A proud Latino will not easily
accept himself as a “pelado” or a chicken even if the situations say otherwise
(1980:7). Being macho is a choice; either a Latino can choose to live on or denies its existence.
Socio-historically, the sense of inferiority originates in the Spanish Conquest, where the Spaniards persistently dominated first the Indians and later the Mexicans. In this context, machismo, the boastful exaggerations of virility, is interpreted as an attempt to conceal the feeling of inferiority. (Angulo 1980:7)
surroundings and being macho is one of the ways to do so. Consequently, when being provoked or threaten in some ways the macho man will certainly respond in a more aggressive and protective manner (1980:7).
In addition, G. Miguel Arciniega and Thomas Anderson’s journal points out that the concept of machismo consists of two parts. The first part is the
traditional machismo which “focuses on individual power and hyper
-masculinity,” which means that machismo have to do with the aggressive
behaviors of Latinos whom prefers to be oppressive, violent, self-centered, abusive to drug and alcohol and their punitive attitudes towards women.
The second part is “Caballerismo”. Caballerismo portray the positive
characteristics of machismo as a man who have dignity, braver, respects towards either men or women, compassionate and protective towards his family.
Caballerismo itself come from a Spanish word “caballero” which mean cavalier
in English or a warrior. Over period of time in Spain caballero than evolve and become a word that define a proper gentlemen with manners and ethics (2008: 19-20).
negative conception of machismo. Mirande’s conceptions are based from his
interviews with his Mexicans and Latinos respondents.
a. Negative conceptions
Mirande presented his negative conceptions of machismo in four different themes such as synthetic or exaggerated masculinity, male dominance or authoritarianism, violence and aggressiveness, and self-centeredness or egoism.
The first negative theme is synthetic or exaggerated masculinity and
according to Mirande “machos are men who are insecure in themselves and need
to prove manhood.” This theme relates with Latinos who prefer to act tough
rather than to accept their weaknesses or situations. These men will do anything in order to preserve their self-image (1997: 69).
Male dominance and authoritarianism relates greatly to the relationship
between Latinos and their wives, as Mirande pointed out “within the family, the
macho figure is viewed as authoritarian, especially relative to the wife.” These men will demand domination his household and the wives should follow whatever they say (1997: 68-69).
Violence and aggressiveness is the third theme of Mirande’s negative
conception of machismo. This theme outlines “the expressions of violence,
aggressiveness, and irresponsibility, both inside and outside of the family.” These
drinking, eager to get into fights and beating their own families. Mirande also
stated that being macho is about “willingness to themselves and other at risk,
particularly physically” (1997:69-70).
The last of the negative theme is self-centered and egoism. This theme
views “macho as being self-centered, selfish and stubborn.” It is about Latinos
who is not a good listener to and self-righteous. These men will not admit if they are wrong and will makes everything centered on their own personal welfare for whatever the consequences. As Mirande stated “it is someone who wants to
impose his will on others or wants to be right, whether he is right or not.”
(1997:71)
b. Positive Conception
Mirande also give four themes to emphasize the positive conception of machismo and those themes are assertiveness or standing up for rights, responsibility and selflessness, general code ethics and sincerity and respect.
Responsibility and selflessness are two qualities that give machismo a good impression. Macho in this theme is about a man who is willing to shoulder
any responsibility and think of other people’s welfare before his own (1997:73).
General code of ethics is about the ethical standard and principles of a
man. As Mirande quoted one of his respondents “I think macho does not have to
be a statesman, just a man that’s known to stand by his friends and follow
through.” It is about the way a man chooses to live his life and how he never back
out of his own words. This theme also shared the traits of first two themes possesses (1997: 73-74).
The last theme of positive conception is sincerity and respect. It is about honesty, genuineness and respect a man possesses for himself and to others around him (1997:74).
C. Theoretical Framework
This section of the thesis reveals theories in analyzing the problem formulation in this research. They are the theory of character and theory of machismo. Both theories have their own function in answering the problems formulated.
character and characterization theories is very crucial to analyze these characters. The writer is confident with the character and characterization theories from Hans P. Guth in his book Discover Literature Studies, Poems and Plays and Milly S.
Barranger’s in Understanding Plays, as their theories give a clear picture in
describing a character.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The Conduct of Life is one of Maria Irene Fornes’s important works in her
years as feminist drama writer. The theme and main characters of this play situate the effect of male domination over women.
On 15th of February 1988 The Conduct of Life was performed in Chicago at the Organic Theater. Directed by Thomas Riccio the play receives a great deal of positive responses. As Richard Christiansen an entertainment editor from
Chicago Tribune put itin his article entitled “Conduct of Life’ Peels Layers of
Pain “The Conduct of Life”nevertheless is galvanized by the same sense of palpable mystery in Fornes` theatricality.” There are two things that can be taken
from Christiansen’s words such as Fornes was always consistence with her work
and The Conduct of Lifeis as good as expected (articles.chicagotribune.com, 5th August 2012).
Latin American country, the house are intodivided into four sets such as the living room, warehouse, dining room and hallway. There are two male characters and three female characters. These characters are divided into three major characters and two minor characters in this play.
The Conduct of Life portrays the daily life of a Hispanic military family. This family consists of a military man that dominates his wife and two other women whom also lives in the house. Living in the same house with his wife does not stop him of bullying and harassing the two other women. Throughout the play there is alsoone minor male character that appears mostly at beginning. Unlike the other male character this man possesses softer and weaker personalities.
B. Approach of the Study
It is important to apply a critical approach to literature in this study because it helps the writer to do this study and prevent the discussion to going out of context. Therefore the writer applies the gender study as the approach of this study.
The writer considers gender study as the appropriate approach to this study. This is because gender study not only talks about women but also about men and issues they encounter in responding to patriarchal society. Kennedy
states “gender criticism examines how sexual identity influences the creation and
Kimmel in proclaims that “sex is male and female; gender is masculinity
and femininity: what it means to be man or a woman.” Kimmel also require his
readers to look beyond just “biological differences” and focus on things such as
“hierarchy, power and inequality” and how they influence both male and female.
This definition of gender study by Kimmel can be used to explore how the male characters in this play respond to masculinity (2000:1).
C. Method of the Study
In assembling this research, the writer carried out the library research method. The writer divides the sources into two parts which are the primary source and the secondary source. The primary source is the play itself, Maria
Irene Fornes’sThe Conduct of Life, which was taken from the book of
Understanding Plays. Meanwhile, the secondary sources consist of references to support this research such as Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama 7th edition by X.J Kennedy and Dana Gioid, The Gendered Society by Michael Kimmel, The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought by Alan Bullock, Understanding Plays by Milly S. Barranger’s, of Discover Literature Studies,
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
The aim of this chapter is to answer problem formulations which are presented in the previous chapter. This chapter is divided into two sections. Firstly, the writer analyses the characteristics of the male characters in this play. The characters are analyzed from their thought, interaction with other characters, behavior, action and narration. Secondly, using the data from the analysis of characters and combining with the theories of gender and machismo, the writer tries to work out how each male character responds to the concept of machismo.
A. Characteristics of Orlando and Alejo
The discussion of character and characterization in this section of the analysis is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the characteristics of Orlando, one of the main characters of this play and the second part of this section
talks about Alejo’s character.
1. Orlando a. Pretentious
As explained in chapter two that “synthetic or exaggerated masculinity” is
play. The first example can be seen at the very beginning of the play where Orlando displays his physical attributes.
Orlando is doing jumping jacks in the upper left corner of the dining room in the dark. A light slowly, comes up on him. He wears military breeches held by suspenders, and a riding boots. He does jumping-jack as long as it can be endured. (p.652)
The way Fornes presents Orlando in this act gives the readers or audience an idea about this character. The military breeches and riding boots symbolizes machismo that this man really concern with psychical image. Orlando exercising is not just a matter of being healthy but an attempt to fulfill his needs which to get physically stronger and more muscular.
Orlando may put up an act to show that he is not weak and he has no remorse and emotional response towards anything but the truth is that he was
actually hurting when no one is looking. As stated by Mirande “machos are men
who are insecure in themselves and need to prove their manhood” (1997:68). Orlando tries to conceal his insecurity by pushing and dominating others however it did not bring him anything good but only pain. However, Nena the girl Orlando
uses as a sexual object saw through Orlando’s theatrical masculinity.
The reason Nena knew about Orlando’s condition is because he revealed it
to her. On scene thirteen Orlando reveals himself that he is in pain and insecure, and where he is actually looking for some comfort.
ORLANDO: what I do to you is out of love. Out of want. It’s not what
does enjoy violent. Second, his macho sneers are also aim to cover his insecurity and his need for love.
b. Oppressive
One thing for sure about Orlando is that he dominated all the other characters in this play especially in his household. Orlando is a suitable sample to
represent the saying “whatever I say goes.”
needs, Leticia tries to come up with some sort of resolution which is to bring her friend Mona to stay with her for a while so she can process this situation. Orlando as usual rejects this request of his wife and makes another decision of his own that will only hurt his wife even more which is to make Nena their servant. (Barranger, 1994: 662).
Another example of Orlando’s domination throughout of the play is that
neither Alejo nor Olimpia dares to talk and expose the truth about Nena to Leticia not until she discovers it for herself as seen on scene twelve.
OLIMPIA : here kitty, kitty. (Leticia walks to Olimpia, look closely at the plate then up at Olimpia.)
LETICIA : What is it? OLIMPIA : Food.
LETICIA : Who is it for? (Olimpia turns her eyes away and doesn’t answer. Leticia decides to go to the cellar. She stops half way there.) Who is it?
OLIMPIA : A cat. (Leticia opens the cellar.)
LETICIA : It’s not a cat. I’m going down. (She opens the door to the cellar and starts to go down.) I want to see who is there. (p.661)
Olimpia, as seen on scene eleven, is the one character that seems to have the courage to confront Orlando but in this case, she also does not have enough strength to tell the truth and to expose Orlando. Some may argue that the reason Olimpia lied about Nena is because she was protecting both Leticia and Nena but
In addition, Orlando does not only dominate the female characters but also Alejo as well. Even though Alejo and Orlando hold the same ranks in the military but whenever Alejo is also afraid to confront Orlando whenever he does something reckless and violent.
ORLANDO: He was repulsive to us. ALEJO : I never hurt him.
ORLANDO: well, you never stopped me.
ALEJO : I didn’t know how to stop you. I didn’t know anyone could behave the way you did. It frightened me. It changed me. I become hopeless.
ORLANDO: You were always hopeless. (p.657)
From their dialogue above it can be said that Alejo is afraid of Orlando. Because of his fear towards Orlando, Alejo is somehow defenseless and easier to be dominated by Orlando.
c. Violent
Violent and aggressive are behaviors that machos like Orlando will certainly possess. These behaviors can also be connected to the previous points such as fake and oppressive behaviors. In order to show his domination over other characters Orlando usually confronted these people in an aggressive manner.
Orlando’s explosive temper and violent behavior are displayed a number
fancy people telling him what to do and questioning him but he prefers to do things on his own terms and expect everyone else to just agree with him.
LETICIA: What! Me go hunting do you think I’m going to shoot a dear,
the most beautiful animal in the world? Do you think I’m going
to destroy a deer? On the contrary, I would run on the field and scream and wave my arms like a mad woman and try to scare them away so the hunters could not reach them.
ORLANDO: Hunting is a sport! A skill! Don’t talk about anything you
know nothing about. Must you have an opinion about every
damn thing! Can’t you keep your mouth shut when you don’t know what you’re talking about? (p.653)
Orlando’s bad temper usually leads to violence. For someone like Orlando
who is thirst for promotion in the military will certainly take every assignment given to him seriously. It can be seen from the case of Felo, a man who were
tortured during an interrogation with Orlando. Alejo who witness Orlando’s
action was terrified because he could not believe that Orlando is capable of such violence. Violence is something Orlando enjoys because it will showcase his
ORLANDO: Boys play that way. You did too (p.657).
From the way Alejo confronted him and how this conversation shaped it
can be said that Orlando’s conscious will not feel any remorse for Felo because it
violent behavior does not end at his headquarters but he also brings it along to his home. Nena, a young girl who he kept to fulfill his sexual desire is the one that always suffer sexual and physical abuse from this sadistic tyrant.
NENA: ... and he took to a place. And he hurt me. I fought with him but I
stopped fighting because I couldn’t fight anymore and he did things to me… and he beat me. And he hung me on the wall.
(p.663)
Not only Orlando uses Nena as a punching bag but also to satisfy his sexual needs. Viewing from his relationship with both Leticia and Nena, Orlando fits the profile of a pedophile. As someone who is more sexually attracted a young girl than to much older women. Orlando feeling towards Leticia is already shown at the first scene where he acknowledged that he does not love her. Leticia is also aware of the situation where her husband is not attracted to her anymore.
LETICIA: He told me he didn’t love me, and that his sole relationship to
me was simply a marital one. What he means is that I am to keep this house, and he is to provide for it. (p.653)
NENA: ... He touches himself and he touches his breasts and he touches his stomach and his behind. He puts his fingers in my parts and he keeps reciting. Then he turns me on my stomach and puts himself inside me. He says I belong to him. (p.663)
Orlando’s attraction to Nena can be seen through a number of occasions in
this play which strengthen Orlando position as a pedophile. Firstly, as previously mentioned Orlando is not sexually attracted to Leticia. Second, Nena is a twelve
years girl who is the victim of Orlando’s sexual disorder. The relationship
twelve Orlando may proclaim that what happened between him and Nena is a product of their love but in this modern era having sexual relationship with a twelve years old is just wrong and it is against the law.
d. Egoistic
Orlando is an ambitious and self-centered sort of person, as seen from his first monologue at the first scene. While displaying his physical traits, Orlando sets his goal for the future. He knows exactly where his current position is whether in his own marriage or his career at the military. Orlando convinces himself that he does have a plan to prosper and improve and he will not stop until he reaches it.
ORLANDO: Thirty three and I’m still a lieutenant. In two years I’ll
receive a promotion. I promise myself I will not spend time feeling sorry for myself. Instead I will study the situation and draw an effective plan of action. I must eliminate all obstacles. I will make acquaintance of people in high power. If I cannot achieve this on my own merit, I will marry woman in high circles. Leticia must not be an obstacle. Man must have an ideal, mine is to achieve maximum power. That is my destiny-no other interest will deter me from this. (p.652-653).
any women who will provide him with paths to the top. He wants nothing other than to be on the top of the food chain.
Orlando does not only have trouble with his temper but also his incapability of caring and responding to other people’s feeling. Given in any circumstances Orlando will say anything to defend himself without considering the situation and who he was talking to. He cheated on his wife right under her nose and when she confronted him about sexual affairs he still have the gut to stay calm and responded as if he has done nothing wrong. All this man ever cares about is his well-being and nothing else.
LETICIA: Don’t make her scream? ORLANDO: You’re crazy.
LETICIA: Don’t I give you enough?
ORLANDO: (he’s calm) don’t start.
LETICIA: How long is she going to stay here? ORLANDO: Not long.
2. Alejo a. Weak
Alejo as the other male characters in this play is described as one of the weakest character even among the female characters. As a minor character Alejo only appears a few times in the whole play, his qualities that can be explore are also limited and the ones that are presented only shows his weak sides. The weaknesses that he shows involve how he fears Orlando and lets Orlando push him around.
ORLANDO: Well, you never stopped me.
ALEJO: I didn’t know how to stop you. I didn’t know anyone could behave the way you did. It frightened me. It changed me. I became hopeless.
ORLANDO: You were always hopeless. (p.657)
The quotations above are taken from scene six and dialogue is about how
Alejo reacted to Orlando’s behavior during an interrogation with a prisoner. It
b. Pessimistic
Alejo also described as a man who lacks of enthusiasm of his the future. Unlike Orlando who is very ambitious on improving his life, Alejo on the other hand seems to lost interest and passion on everything he does.
ALEJO: Look at me. I used to be an idealist. Now I don’t have any feeling for anything. I used to be strong, healthy, I looked at the future with hope. (p.657)
Another reason that caused Alejo to lose interest of the future is because he became sexually impotent. His inability to feel passionate human feeling
symbolizes the hopelessness of Alejo’s life. One of the reason is that Every
Latinos are obliged to be able to impregnate a woman, so if one to lose that ability then it can be said that his life is as good as over because not every woman are willing to take an interest in a man who cannot give them children.
c. Compassionate
Even if already lost hope for himself but Alejo in this play is also described as a humane, a quality that Orlando lacks. Alejo may be weak on some points and lost his interest on the future but he never loses his compassion for others. As he shown at least two times throughout the play.
ALEJO: Now I don’t. I know what viciousness is.
ORLANDO: what is viciousness?
ORLANDO: Boys play that way. You did too.
ALEJO: I didn’t.
ORLANDO: He was repulsive to us. ALEJO: I never hurt him.
ORLANDO: Well, you never stopped me.
ALEJO: I didn’t know how to stop you. I didn’t know anyone could
behave the way you did. It frightened me. It changed me. I become hopeless. (p.657)
From these quotations Alejo shows clearly that he despised excessive violence in any kind of form. It affected him so much to cause him to lose hope. This quality also sets him apart from Orlando because he shows sympathy to the violence which Felo suffers even if he is unable to stop it.
maid playing pattycake. This situation shows how social status does not affect Alejo as he treats them who are socially beneath him as his equal.
B. Concept of Machismo Seen Through the Characters
The concept machismo is seen as defense mechanism in Latin American country and it has been part of their culture. Machismo mark out the relationship between men will only grow around aggression, honor and pride, and the relationship between men and women will evolve around men’s sexual conquest, jealousy and possessiveness.
As stated in chapter two, machismo is divided into two different conceptions. The first definition is the traditional machismo which portrays an aggressive behavior of a Latino to show their manliness or masculinity. The second definition is the positive side of machismo which sum up to the word Caballero, it also shows masculinity only less aggressive.
1. Orlando
Traditional machismo is another form of machismo that consists of behaviors and attitudes such as abusive, narcissistic, hypersexuallity, violent and oppressive. These behaviors are supported by their culture or in other words their community actually allows Latinos to behave this way. (Scott, 1997: 74-75)
Latinos are exposed and introduced to the concept of machismo since the very early age of their lives. These young Latinos are taught that being born as male in Latin American community already gives them the right and advantages to be superior and to dominate anyone especially over women (Scott, 1997: 74-75). Similar to any other Latinos Orlando is certainly raised in an environment where teaches him the superiority of men. As machismo is a standard that
influences many aspects of Orlando’s behavior and as a result it drives him to
behave aggressively and any ways he chooses because he believes it is his right to do so and no one can tell him otherwise.
Orlando is also someone who recognizes his own weaknesses and one of his weaknesses is his sexual passion. He believes that in order to fulfill his goal which is “to achieve maximum power” he must eliminate these weaknesses or at least tries to cover it up by embracing the standards of machismo. He also uses
machismo as “psychological defense mechanism” as Angulo views it (Angulo,
about his domestic and love life, but he also cannot let other people sees his condition so he needs to put up a front or decoy to conceal his problems.
Based on his characteristics explained in the first half of this chapter, Orlando is certainly a suitable model to embody the traditional views of machismo because he enact really well to the negative version of machismo. He manipulates and seduces, he hurt people both physically and mentally, and he prefers to make decisions that will only benefits him without worrying about other people. As an example, Orlando is eager to take advantages of his position as lieutenant commander in the army as he enjoy sadistically tortured a prisoner during an interrogation without worrying that his action may take away a human life.
Orlando is ruthless in his domestic life; he makes his wife Leticia to accept his decision on making Nena a homeless girl who he uses as a sexual object to be a servant in their home even if he knew that his decision will hurt
Leticia even more (Barranger, 1994: 662). It emphasizes Mirande’s theory that a
Latino will always be “authoritarian” when it come downs to their domestics
affairs and his wives will have no say on any matters (Mirande, 1997: 68-69).
military he needs to behave in an aggressive manner this way because it will help him in carrying out his duty.
Orlando also cannot stand a situation where someone defies, ignores and challenges his opinion. As someone who lives his entire life by the standard of machismo it is a sign of weakness when anyone defies you especially if that person is socially beneath you. To avoid those situations Orlando feel the need to be louder and more aggressive than the other person so that he can dominate the situation. For these obvious reasons, it can be concluded that he uses machismo an as excuse for his behavior which function to better his position.
To conclude this section of the analysis it can be said that Orlando interprets machismo in a number ways. First of all, he sees machismo as his God giving rights which means that there is nothing wrong with the way he behaves
himself because that how it’s supposed to be. Secondly, Orlando sees machismo
2. Alejo
Unlike Orlando who tries very hard to live up to the traditional standards of machismo in order to gain respects and conceal his weaknesses from other people. Alejo on the other hand does not to show any interest of proving his masculinity (Mirande, 1997: 72-73). Alejo accept himself for the way he is along with his weaknesses and problems. He did not try to hide it but he tries to deal with it in his own way without affecting the people around him.
Alejo despised the situation where a man uses violence as tool in order to prove his superiority over others. As seen in scene five, Alejo confronted Orlando about his need of showing his violent behaviors during an interrogation. Alejo
distinguish Orlando’s reaction to Felo’s resistant are unnecessary and excessive.
He seems to prefer to carry out his job with a nonviolent manner.
Alejo in this play also represent very well Mirande’s theory on a Latino
having sincerity and respect for others. When he mixed himself up with Nena and Olimpia in the basement while they are playing patty cake tells a lot of Alejo’s quality as a man. Alejo lives in a world where social status is not just something to take for granted but he manages to get by that situation and look at the people around him as his equal (1997: 73-74).
kind. In a Latin American community when a man speaks out loud that his having problem sexually then it is the same as social suicide because theier society can be very cruel towards such issue, but Alejo without hesitation will own up to his problems.
In conclusion, the writer sees Alejo as someone who represents some
qualities of a “caballero” which is the opposite side of machismo (Arciniega
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
In The Conduct of Life, Maria Irene Fornes pin points the characteristics of machismo through both of the male character in this play. She distinguishes the traits of machismo to create two totally different characters who work together in the military so that the readers can see machismo and the struggles of both characters from different aspects.
This thesis has discusses two problems which concerned with how the
male characters perceive the concept of machismo in Maria Irene Fornes’ The
Conduct of Life. In analyzing the characteristics of both characters, the writer concludes that Orlando as the main male character represents the traditional standards machismo that a Latino should be strong, aggressive, able to dominate others and should stands at the top of the food chain. Alejo, on the other hand is described as the opposite of Orlando because he is less aggressive and in a way more compassionate.
Orlando and Alejo’s interpretations of machismo are also very different
and because of that he needs to be macho in order to survive in his world. As a result of his behaviors that lead him to lose everything that he achieved and in the end cost him his own life.
Having analyzed Alejo’s character, the writer finds that Alejo see some
traits of machismo as an unnecessary behaviors which he despised. For instance, a man should not always choose the path of violence in dealing with some issues when he can choose other approach like arbitration. In addition, Alejo feels that being a man should not make us lose our respect for other people.
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