The Grandmother aims to bring Matia under her control and recreate Matia in her own image. The dominance that the Grandmother tries to implement over Matia is shown when she says ‘te dominaremos’ the Grandmother is clearly determined to stamp out any of the rebellious nature that Matia has and wants to ‘mold Matia into the image she wants’ Schumm (1999 p.48), Michael Thomas describes the Grandmothers ‘taming’ of Matia as though she is being ‘swallowed’ by her Grandmother. This figurative ‘swallowing’ of Matia into the world of the Grandmother provides a very negative characterisation of the character and gives her the role of the villain in the story, much like in the fairy tales that Matia reads. The control and influence of the Grandmother is evident in the case of Borja, who in Matia’s words knew how to behave in front of his grandmother ‘Era dulce y suave en su presencia y conocia muy bien el significado de las palabras herencia, dinero, tierras’ Matute (2009 , p15). He also inherited some of her traits, for example, her lack of mercy. This shows that the Grandmother has already tamed Borja, who has left his childhood behind and succumbed to his Grandmothers world.
Matia often uses animal metaphors to describe her Grandmother. The Grandmothers attempted control and intrusion on her life was a constant frustration for Matia and characterises her as a predatory animal, she recollects that the Grandmother was ‘like a greyhound’ that ‘sniffed their footsteps to find them’ Matute/Kerrigan (1991, p 19), as well as showing the intrusion and attempted interference in the lives of the youngsters Sandra Schumm believes this metaphor portrays an ‘animal tracking its prey’ Schumm (1999, p 47). Also she compares her Grandmothers eyes with those of an owl and calls her ‘the beast’ Matute/Kerrigan (1991, p 20) giving further information to the reader of the character and role of the Grandmother. On a small scale we are seeing a persecution of Matia by her Grandmother due to Matia’s past and her rebellious nature, and many people would side with Matia and see the Grandmother as the villain.
The character of Doña Praxedes has a lot of authority in the small island where she and her family live. Many of the people are her tenants and she enjoys her position on top of a hill looking down over her dominion showing her influence. Matia resents this and in another descriptive paragraph we are able to sense these feelings of resentment.
Allí estaría, como un dios panzudo y descascarillado, como un enorme y glotón muñecazo, moviendo los hilos de sus marionetas. Desde su gabinete, las casitas de los colonos con sus luces amarillas, con sus mujeres cocinando y sus niños gritones, eran como un teatro diminuto.
The way that the Grandmother observes the ‘colonos’ upsets Matia, Schumm (1999) claims that Matia empathizes with the people watched by the Grandmother because of the scrutiny she receives by the Grandmother. It is clear that Matia is not the only person scrutinised by the Grandmother who looks disapprovingly on anyone that differs from her traditionalist ideas, this includes Manuel and her staff. Her constant scrutiny and authority provoke reactions of fear in others, (much like the Spanish state at the time) nobody is willing to stand up to her, for example Antonia, who works for the Grandmother, does not have the strength of mind to challenge her authority when it mattered the most, the same with Matia. The Grandmother has established an almost dictatorial rule on her household.
In a historical context the character of Doña Praxedes carries some importance. As Spain was under a dictatorship at the time of writing the novel there was little literary freedom when writing, therefore Matute needed to express her ideas without saying what she wanted. The Grandmothers character can in many ways be compared with the Spanish state at that time. Her traditional and nationalist views clearly put her, in the readers mind, on the side of Franco, and yet she is the baddie, the villain who tries to take away Matia’s childhood. It would have been impossible to publish the book if Matute had spoken out openly against the regime, therefore creating a character that readers will be able to notice as a similar figure to that of the Spanish government and General Franco is important if she wants to put out a message. The Grandmother’s intrusive and authoritarian rule over her household and her tenants compares with that of General Franco’s rule over Spain. The Grandmother is very much a symbol of Christian Spain and a symbol of what was wrong with Spain at the time whilst they hung on to traditionalist values.
The Grandmothers role in Matia’s life is crucial in the end of her childhood, the Grandmother takes away Matia’s innocence and thrusts her into the adult world where Matia falters and stumbles in a place which she is not yet ready to go, however she has moved away from childhood and is at a difficult point in her life. Matia mentions two fairy tales throughout that run parallel to Matia’s tale; Peter Pan and The Snow Queen. However there is a contrast to Peter Pan as Matia finds that the island and her Grandmothers presence rob her of her childhood, Neverland in Peter Pan is the opposite to this. Anderson (1992) recognizes the ‘stepmother authority figures’ Anderson (1992, p.18) in both Primera memoria and The Snow Queen. The Grandmother plays the role of the Snow Queen in the novel and Matia’s feelings when she stays at her Grandmother’s house reflect those of Kay and Gerda when they meet the Snow Queen at her ‘mirror of reason’, Matia finds the same atmosphere at her Grandmother’s house, ‘frigid’ Anderson (1992, p 19) and cold, mirroring the Grandmother herself. ‘En casa de la abuela, hubo frialdad’ Matute (1999, this shows Matia’s feelings when in her Grandmother’s house, there is no warmth or joy for Matia and as it turns out there is no happy ending either.
In summary the character of the Grandmother in Primera memoria provides the novel with a villain; however she plays other important roles, as historical symbols, the destructive role she has in Matia’s childhood and her role on the island. The characterisation of her is negative throughout, however Matia cannot dismiss her altogether, hence the bittersweet descriptions that we see. Despite this she is cold and indifferent and her traditionalist values mirror that of the Spanish dictatorship and in the end she was the cause of the turmoil that Matia suffered at the end of her childhood by poisoning her with her own attitude and image.
Bibliography
Ana Maria Matute (2009), Primera memoria, Barcelona: Destino.
Ana Maria Matute (translated by E. Kerrigan) (1991), School of the Sun, London: Quartet books.
Sandra J. Schumm (1999), Reflection in Sequence: Novels by Spanish Women 1944-1948, Cranbury: Bucknell University Press.
Anderson, C. L. (1992) Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen’ and Matute’s Primera memoria: To the Victor Go the Spoils. Critica Hispanica, 14, 13-27
Schraibman, J. (1990) Two Spanish Civil War Novels: A Woman’s Perspective. In Perez, J. & Aycock, W. (eds.) The Spanish Civil War in Literature. Lubbock, Texas Tech UP, 149-159
Thomas, M. D. (1978) The Rite of Initiation in Matute’s Primera memoria. Kentucky Romance Quarterly, 25, 153-164
