Parental overprotection in Esmeralda Santiago’s Almost a Woman: Sociocultural and psychosocial perspectives

• Main Author: Claudia O. Young, Email: [e-mail]
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Educational and Social Sciences Association (IESSA) 2019-12-01
• Series: Journal of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities
• Subjects: almost a woman; esmeralda santiago; parental overprotection; psychosocial perspective; sociocultural perspective
• Online Access: http://www.jssshonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/JSSSH_Vol.5_No.4_2019_135-141_Sr-No.-4.pdf

This article starts from the premise that parental overprotection is a prevalent sociocultural aspect in the Spanish-speaking countries, but less common in the United States. This work analyzes how parental overprotection appears in Esmeralda Santiago’s Almost a Woman (1998). There are some reasons why Negi—the protagonist of this novel—is overprotected: (a) she is a woman; (b) she lives in a city of a foreign country; and (c) she is the girl of an absent parent. Also, Ulvi—her lover—represents the “escape” from an oppressive existence and the continuation of being an overprotected woman. Therefore, this essay explains Negi’s life as an overprotected individual and demonstrates the unfavorable consequences brought upon her, particularly from the psycho-sociocultural viewpoint.