Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
**Overview of *Caramelo* by Sandra Cisneros**
*Caramelo* is a semi-autobiographical novel by Sandra Cisneros that explores themes of family, identity, and the complexities of cultural heritage through the eyes of its protagonist, Celaya Reyes. The story unfolds in three parts, beginning with Celaya’s childhood memories of a summer trip from Chicago to Mexico City in the early 1960s, where she introduces readers to her vibrant extended family and the rich culture of her surroundings. The narrative then shifts to the perspective of an older Celaya, who reflects on the life of her grandmother, Soledad, a deeply flawed figure whose history of abandonment and fierce possessiveness creates tension within the family dynamic.
As Celaya grapples with her grandmother's haunting presence after her father's heart attack, themes of truth and forgiveness emerge. The ghost of Soledad seeks understanding and redemption, prompting Celaya to confront painful family secrets. Throughout the novel, Cisneros interweaves considerations of "healthy lies" that serve to preserve familial bonds, contrasting them with the harsh truths that can lead to discord. This rich narrative highlights the struggles of a young Latina aspiring to be an artist in a culture that often limits women's choices, ultimately portraying a journey towards self-discovery and artistic expression. *Caramelo* invites readers to reflect on the power of storytelling as a means of healing and connecting across generations.
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Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 2002
Type of work: Novel
The Work
In the first part of Caramelo, Celaya Reyes remembers a summer trip from Chicago to visit her grandparents in Mexico City in about 1962. With rich imagery and humor and from the perspective of a five-year-old, Celaya introduces her extended family and the culture of Mexico City in the mid-twentieth century.
In the second part, with the ghost of her grandmother, Soledad, watching over her shoulder and commenting, an older Celaya recounts Soledad’s life. This is a story of suffering and hardening against the epic backdrop of twentieth century Mexican history. Celaya explains how Soledad—repeatedly abandoned by parents and her husband—turned into “the Awful Grandmother,” hated and feared by Celaya and her mother because of her fierce possessiveness toward her son, Celaya’s father, Inocencio.
In the final part, Celaya, from a teenager’s perspective, recounts Soledad’s final years, after her husband’s death, when she continued to sow discord in her son’s family. She returns from death to haunt Celaya and threaten Inocencio. In a struggle over Inocencio’s hospital bed after his heart attack, Celaya and the ghost strike a bargain. If Celaya will tell Soledad’s story—as she does in the second part—Soledad will not carry her father away to be with her. Soledad wants her story told because she is suffering alone; she cannot pass on to the next life until those she has hurt can understand her and forgive her.
Soledad’s cruelest act was telling the truth at a carefully chosen moment. Knowing that Inocencio had an illegitimate daughter with her laundress, Soledad brings both mother and child to work in her house while Celaya’s family is visiting. While on an outing, Soledad reveals the truth to Celaya’s mother, hoping that she will leave Inocencio. Celaya does not understand this treachery fully until after her father’s illness, and yet she still is willing to bargain with this “Awful Grandmother” for her father’s life.
In an interview with Ray Suarez of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network, Cisneros said that in a story, she has the opportunity to think deeply about her characters and to be more forgiving than people are normally. Caramelo is, in part, about forgiveness. Her characters often discuss truth and “healthy lies.” Soledad attempts to destroy Celaya’s family by telling the truth. Repeatedly Celaya and various characters find reasons to tell what they call “healthy lies,” usually the kinds of stories that help people to be kind to one another when closeness is more important than knowing the facts.
Caramelo also develops Cisneros’s typical theme of the young Latina struggling toward becoming an artist within a family and culture that frowns on women choosing nontraditional lives. Celaya’s aspirations are almost thwarted by the values Soledad seems to represent, but finally, they are affirmed when Soledad finds she needs Celaya’s storytelling abilities to free her own voice and ask for mercy.
Sources for Further Study
Booklist 98 (August, 2002): 1883.
Library Journal 127 (September 15, 2002): 88.
Los Angeles Times Book Review, September 29, 2002, p. 16.
The New York Times Book Review 107 (September 29, 2002): 24.
Publishers Weekly 249 (August 12, 2002): 275.