Gods of Jade and Shadow

“In 1922 Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto had said women could now vote, but by 1924 he’d faced a firing squad—which is exactly what you’d expect to happen to governors who go around delivering speeches in Mayan and then don’t align themselves with the correct people in power—and they’d revoked that privilege. Not that this ever mattered in Uukumil. It was 1927, but it might as well have been 1807. The revolution passed through it, yet it remained what it had been.”

These lines introduce Casiopea’s town of Uukumil and the world of Mexico in 1927. They highlight the struggles over rights and political power and how Mexico suppressed progressive policies at that time. Uukumil symbolizes small places that get left behind when revolutions happen. Unlike the bigger cities, it is not touched by the changes that transform Mexico. This passage shows the world into which Casiopea is born and is trapped in until her chance to leave it behind.

“‘It’s unfair. Martín has everything and we get nothing,’ Casiopea said.

‘What does he have?’ her mother asked.

‘Well . . . money, and good clothes . . . and he gets to do anything he wants.’

‘You shouldn’t do everything you want just because you can,’ her mother said. ‘That is precisely why Martín is such a terrible man.’”

The exchange highlights the difference experience makes in our understanding of people. Casiopea is convinced she would be happier if she had everything Martín has. By contrast, her mother believes Martín is spoiled and is terrible precisely because he has unchecked freedom. The truth falls somewhere between these two perspectives. Martín is never questioned and believes that he is above reproach. Thus, he acts without regard to potential consequences, not caring who he might hurt.

“I shall now go to hell, she thought, because that was what happened when you looked at a naked man who was not your husband and this one was handsome. She’d probably burn for all eternity. However, she amended her thought when she recalled that she was in the presence of a god who had spoken about yet another god, which would imply that the priest had been wrong about the Almighty One in heaven.”

Here, Casiopea sees Hun-Kamé for the first time, and her thoughts reveal her internal conflict. She believes Hun-Kamé’s story very quickly, which implies that she is ready to accept any alternative explanation for religion and the gods. The strict teachings of the church go against her more open-minded beliefs, and her beliefs are what make her an ideal candidate for her following adventure and heroic actions.