In Chicano literature, figures based on La Llorona complicate liminality by keeping the La Llorona figure in a liminal space and preventing her from ever establishing a stable/concrete identity. It is important to go through liminality and not be stuck in it so a stable identity can form.
The most widely recognized version of La Llorona resembles the narrative presented by storyteller Joe Hayes. The main character of the tale is Maria, a stunningly gorgeous woman. She is conceited and desires marriage, yet believes that she is superior to everyone else. One day a very handsome cowboy comes to her town, and Maria, wanting to marry the most handsome man, is intrigued by him. She is warned about the consequences of marrying a man of his caliber…show more content… She then feels so bad for her actions; not able to handle the grief, ends up killing herself in the river. This is where the story takes a confusing turn; she gets turned into a ghost who is forever grieving the loss of her children. The name of what she is experiencing is liminality. Liminality is the in-betweenness of really anything. In this case, she is stuck in physical and emotional liminality. La Llorona is stuck in this space because she is never able to get over her grief of killing her children. She is neither dead nor living, since she is a ghost which would be her physical liminal space. Her emotional liminal space is where the name La Llorona comes into play, it translates into weeping woman. La Llorona is forever grieving the loss of her children, grief is a liminal emotion because it is not stable. Chicano literature has themes like this to raise awareness of discrimination and other problems. In this story, we are led to believe that women are supposed to be the ones in charge of taking care of the children, and if they do not, there are severe consequences. It should also teach us not to be selfish and envious, as Maria was. This story drives these ideas well because of the
