Giving History a Modern Tone

One explanation I found of historical narrative is, "...the historical method consists in the investigation of the documents in order to determine what is the true or most plausible story that can be told about the events of which they are evidence.  A true narrative account, on this view, is not so much a product of the historian's poetic talents, as the narrative account of imaginary events is conceived to be, as a necessary result of a proper application of historical 'method'. ("The Question of Narrative in Contemporary Historical Theory", by Hayden White)

I found this description particularly appropriate in consideration of "Malintzin's Choices."  Townsend makes excellent use of the historical narrative method to colorfully fill in the gaps of an extensive, but still limited base of historical sources, in order to provide a more complete picture of the events as they occurred around the life of Malintzin and her offspring during the very first European colonization of the American mainland.    She does so though with great delicacy, ensuring that the narrative structure, while appealing and understandable to contemporary readers, does not waiver off the historically accurate path.

As with most of the books we have read, there are a multitude of topics touched upon in this book, but ultimately I found the primary theme to be the social and political character of both the indigenous populations and Spanish colonists and how the mingling of the two changed one another, while also creating a new creole system.  These dynamics were explored through the role of Malintzin and Townsend's attempt to answer the question, "How did this woman matter in her own time?"

Townsend's biographically based historical narrative differs from Cronin's approach in that it creates a strong sense of intimacy with the indigenous agents at the center of this period of transformation.  P. 177 is a particularly strong example of the effectiveness of Townsend's approach and these two quotes stood out for me:

"The truth was double edged in many regards.  When Malintzin's daughter looked about her, she would have been torn between thinking that the Indians' lot was a pitiable one, as their subjugation became more entrenched every day, and thinking that they in fact were the ones in control of a good many aspects of her life -- the kitchen, the streets, the markets, the food supply."

"Maria lived entirely as a Spaniard. Yet her later life reveals that she never forgot who her mother was, and was proud to speak her name...Like others who do not quite fit into the world in which they move, she would have had to come to her own conclusions regarding a number of complex questions. Consciously or unconsciously, she would have been faced with such troubling conundrums as what it meant to be an Indian, or a mestiza."

Further, through the use of historical narrative, Townsend is better able to incorporate the role of agency and how the choices Malintzin and her descendants made ultimately determined their fate in a period of immense change, rather than just letting events dictate outcomes.  In this way, Townsend is able to place modern relevance on historical events.