In
The She-Wolf, Pina is labeled as a She-wolf and compared to the
devil by the townspeople because she displays masculine characteristics. Pina
defies her role as a woman by doing men’s work. Pina “went into the fields to
work with the men, and just like a man too…[despite the] August sirocco, when
the mules’ heads drooped and the men slept down along the wall” (5). She is
rebellious against the standards of women, and because of this, the people in
the village give her a bad name. They do not credit her with being a hard
worker but rather associate her work as being devilish because of the heat of
the day. As well, she walks during the August sirocco, the hottest part of the
day, which the townspeople associate as akin to being under the spell of a
malignant spirit. Pina “was the only living soul to be seen wandering in the
countryside…no good woman goes roving around in the hours between nones and
vespers” (6). It is uncharacteristic for a woman to be out during this part of
the day, and because of that, she is seen as the devil. Lastly, the women in the village “made the sign of the
cross when they saw her pass” because Pina “never had enough—of anything…with
her red lips she sucked the blood of their sons and husbands in a flash, and
pulled them behind her skirt with a single glance of those devilish eyes” (3). Pina
has masculine attributes of an enabler and a chaser, and the townspeople fear
her because Pina openly displays her desire towards men. Instead of blaming the
men for falling for her tricks, they blame her for luring the men to commit
adultery.
I'm afraid I must disagree with your views on why Pina is seen as the devil. You state that her actions are what result in the characteristic of being devilish, but I see it more on what she represents. She represents the temptation of sin in a man. Men desire the sweetest things in life, which happen to revolve around sin. Their desire is not her, but rather what she is, sin. "It's the temptation of hell!" (7). They desire the forbidden fruit, and by being that, she is the sin that drives the men to hell in the after-life.
ReplyDelete