Throughout the entirety of our lives, we will all be faced with challenges and decisions that we may later come to regret, but despite these regrets we learn to move forward and use them as a learning experience. Sometimes we ignorantly base our view of the world on things we have seen on television shows or in Cleofilas case, telénovelas. This sense of blind ignorance can lead us to make decision that we never thought we would have to make, such as deciding whether or not to stay in a violent relationship. However, there are some things that despite a person's ignorance can be the key to freedom. .
In "Woman Hollering Creek-, Cleofilas is a young woman who is excited to marry Juan Pedro and move up North to Seguin, Tejas, but she soon finds out that her life won't be like the telénovelas she once loved to watch. On the way to Seguin, Cleofilas notices that the name of the arroyo they pass is called La Gritona-Woman Hollering' and she can't help but think "such a funny name for a creek so pretty and full of happily ever after- (222). This name intrigues Cleofilas because she cannot seem to comprehend why it is called as it is. Everyone she asks does not question the name, little less understand it (221), which baffles Cleofilas more because how can people who live there not know why the creek has that name.
When Cleofilas life begins to take a turn for the worse she can hardly admit to herself, let alone anyone else, when her dreams of romance and domestic happiness diminish in the face of alcoholism, poverty, and abuse. The first time Juan Pedro hit her she didn't fight back, she didn't break into tears, she didn't run away as she imagine she might when she saw such things in the telénovelas (222). Not being able to escape from this abusive relationship, Cleofilas turns to the creek as a way of breaking free. She wonders constantly whether or not the creek was named after a holler of pain or rage (222), and becomes isolated in her duties as a wife and mother.
