The Spanish Daughter

The Spanish Daughter focuses on female characters but carves out space to consider and critique masculinity. The novel stresses the link between gender and performance, as Puri dons her husband’s clothes and tries to pass as a man. Gesturing to the proverb “Clothing makes the man,” Puri’s disguise creates a male identity that allows her to view the interactions between men and to feel the freedom that comes with masculine identity. As she acts as a man, however, she begins to feel both the unwritten expectations and restrictions for men and the depths of their differences as individuals. Her view of men originates with her mother, who, abandoned by Don Armand, “always said that men were only useful when they were gone” (30). These judgments become part of a script that Puri performs toward men, thinking that all men share a communal identity.

Martin embodies this traditional masculine ideal most easily. He is a strong working man, and Puri notices her poor performance most clearly in his presence. For example, walking around the plantation together, Puri has a hard time dealing with the muddy terrain. She soon realizes her mistake: “Men didn’t care if their shoes got a little soiled or wet” (84-85).