"June"

"Now, seeing her hands no longer at her mother's command, she didn't know what to ask them to do, she had never decided for herself before. They could do anything or become anything. They could turn into birds and fly into the air! She would like them to carry her far away, as far as possible." (109)

"She yearned with all her soul to be borne off by her hands. She stood that way for a while, looking at the deep blue of the sky around her motionless hands. Tita thought that the miracle was actually occurring when she saw her fingers turning into a thin cloud rising to the sky. She prepared to ascend drawn by a superior power, but nothing happened." (109)

She stayed with the woman for a little while. The woman didn't speak either, but it wasn't necessary. From the first, they had established a communication that went far beyond words. (110)

From then on, Tita had visited her there every day. But gradually, Dr. Brown began to appear instead of the woman. (110)

That is but one small example of the huge difference in ideas and opinions that existed between the representatives of these two very different cultures, a gulf that made it impossible for the Browns to feel any desire to learn about the customs and traditions of Morning Light. (111)

"Instead of eating, she would stare at her hands for hours on end. She would regard them like a baby, marveling that they belonged to her. She could move them however she pleased, yet she didn't know what to do with them, other than knitting. (109)

She spent the afternoon at her father-in-law's bedside, singing strange melodies and applying curing herbs, wreathed in the smoke of the copal and incense she burned. It was well into night before the bedroom door opened and she came out, a cloud of incense surrounding her; behind her appeared Peter, completely restored. (113)

Afterward, John's large, loving hands, had taken off her clothes and bathed her and carefully removed the pigeon droppings from her body, leaving her clean and sweet-smelling. (108)

Those hands had rescued her from horror and she would never forget it. (108)

Central Focus

Conclusion

In "June", Laura Esquirel uses literary elements to emphasize Tita's growing independence and separation from the role of women in society, which is displayed through her estrangement from Mama Elena.

My grandmother had a very interesting theory, she said that each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves; (115)

- Tita has realized she needs someone to light her match and kindle her desire

- Dr. Brown could potentially be the one to do that and becomes a symbol of nonconformity

- Tita realizes she has power, as a woman, outside of the domestic world of the kitchen.

He could philosophize about even the most profound aspects of life without his hands pausing or making a mistake. (114)

She had to find someone who could kindle her desire. Could that someone be John? She was remembering the pleasant sensation that ran through her body when he took her hand in the labratory. (118)

"Because I don't want to." With those words Tita had taken her first step toward freedom. (118)

That's why it's important to keep your distance from people who have frigid breath. Just their presence can put out the most intense fire,... (116)

"June"

Lillian Andemicael