Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico (Diálogos Series)

American Historical Review: Can anything new be said about Malintzin (Doña Marina, La Malinche), Hernán Cortés's Nahuatl-speaking interpreter during the conquest of the Aztecs? Ethnohistorical research has already recovered the outlines of the remarkable woman who lies beneath popular images of traitor, whore, victim, & mother of the mestizo Mexican nation, & has reevaluated conquest history from indigenous points of view. Yet Camilla Townsend quickly convinced this reader that the tracesof the “real” Malintzin merit a book-length elaboration, & she sets these traces into an extensively researched & delightfully absorbing story. Given the limited & often contradictory evidence, it is more a book about Malintzin's “contexts” than a conventional biography, & Townsend dabbles in the “what would she have felt?” speculations that bedevil biographers of poorly documented subjects. But although her conjectures sometimes cross into the fanciful, they are never jarring or absurd, & she often presents multiple possible scenarios.Malintzin's childhood name is unknown; “Malintzin” is a Nahuatl adaptation of the Spanish baptismal name, Marina, assigned to her after the Mayas of Putunchan gave her & 19 other girls to Cortés & his party as a peacemaking gesture. In Putunchan Malintzin was a slave, having been sold away from her Nahuatl-speaking home, where she may have been the daughter of a minor nobleman's concubine. Cortés gave this pretty teenager to a high-ranking compatriot, Alonso Hernández de Puertocarrero. She began to exercise the “choices” of the book's title when the Castilians first encountered Nahuatl-speaking emissaries of the Mexica emperor Motecuhzoma, with whom Jerónimo de Aguilar, the Mayan-speaking shipwreck survivor Cortés had picked up in Yucatán, could not communicate. Malintzin could, & did, translating their words into Mayan for Aguilar. Freed from Puertocarrero's bed, & quickly mastering Castilian, she became th

Malintzin was the indigenous woman who translated for Hernando Cortés in his dealings with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma in the days of 1519 to 1521. "Malintzin," at least, was what the Indians called her. The Spanish called her doña Marina, and she has become known to posterity as La Malinche. As Malinche, she has long been regarded as a traitor to her people, a dangerously sexy, scheming woman who gave Cortés whatever he wanted out of her own self-interest.

The life of the real woman, however, was much more complicated. She was sold into slavery as a child, and eventually given away to the Spanish as a concubine and cook. If she managed to make something more out of her life--and she did--it is difficult to say at what point she did wrong. In getting to know the trials and intricacies with which Malintzin's life was laced, we gain new respect for her steely courage, as well as for the bravery and quick thinking demonstrated by many other Native Americans in the earliest period of contact with Europeans.

In this study of Malintzin's life, Camilla Townsend rejects all the previous myths and tries to restore dignity to the profoundly human men and women who lived and died in those days. Drawing on Spanish and Aztec language sources, she breathes new life into an old tale, and offers insights into the major issues of conquest and colonization, including technology and violence, resistance and accommodation, gender and power.

"Beautifully written, deeply researched, and with an innovative focus, Malintzin's Choices will become a classic. Townsend deftly walks the fine line between historical documentation and informed speculation to rewrite the history of the conquest of Mexico. Weaving indigenous and Spanish sources the author not only provides contextual depth to understanding Malintzin's critical role as translator and cultural interpreter for Cortes, but in the process she illuminates the broader panorama of choices experienced by both indigenous and Spanish participants. This work not only provides revisionst grist for experts, but will become a required and a popular reading for undergraduates, whether in colonial surveys or in specialty courses."--Ann Twinam, professor of history, University of Texas, Austin

"In this beautifully written and engrossing story of a controversial figure in Mexican history, Camilla Townsend does a wonderful job unraveling the multiple myths about Malintzin (Marina, Malinche), and placing her within her culture, her choices, and the tumultuous times in which she lived. The result is a portrayal of Malintzin as a complex human being forced by circumstances to confront change and adaptation in order to survive."--Susan M. Socolow, Emory University

"Camilla Townsend's text reads beautifully. She has a capacity to express complex ideas in simple, elegant language. This book consists of an interweaving of many strands of analysis. Malinche appears as symbol, as a historical conundrum, and as an actor in one of history's most fascinating dramas. The reader follows Malinche but all the while learns about the Nahuas' world. It is a book that will be extremely valuable for classrooms but also makes an important contribution to the academic literature."--Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, professor of history, Carleton University

Malintzin was the indigenous woman who translated for Hernando Cortés in his dealings with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma in the days of 1519 to 1521. "Malintzin," at least, was what the Indians called her. The Spanish called her doña Marina, and she has become known to posterity as La Malinche. As Malinche, she has long been regarded as a traitor to her people, a dangerously sexy, scheming woman who gave Cortés whatever he wanted out of her own self-interest.

The life of the real woman, however, was much more complicated. She was sold into slavery as a child, and eventually given away to the Spanish as a concubine and cook. If she managed to make something more out of her life—and she did—it is difficult to say at what point she did wrong. In getting to know the trials and intricacies with which Malintzin's life was laced, we gain new respect for her steely courage, as well as for the bravery and quick thinking demonstrated by many other Native Americans in the earliest period of contact with Europeans.

In this study of Malintzin's life, Camilla Townsend rejects all the previous myths and tries to restore dignity to the profoundly human men and women who lived and died in those days. Drawing on Spanish and Aztec language sources, she breathes new life into an old tale, and offers insights into the major issues of conquest and colonization, including technology and violence, resistance and accommodation, gender and power.

"Malintzin's was the indigenous woman who translated for Hernando Cortes in his dealings with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma from 1519 to 1521. The Spanish called her dona Marina, and she has become known to posterity as La Malinche. As Malinche, she has long been regarded as a traitor to her people, a dangerously sexy, scheming woman who facilitated Cortes's conquest." "The life of the real woman, however, was much more complicated. She was sold into slavery as a child, and eventually given away to the Spanish as a concubine and cook. In this major reevaluation we gain new respect for her steely courage, as well as for the creativity, bravery, and resourcefulness of native peoples in the wake of conquest. Camilla Townsend rejects the myths that obscured this life. Drawing on Spanish and Aztec language sources, she breathes new life into an old tale, and offers insights into the major issues of conquest and colonization, including technology and violence, resistance and accommodation, gender and power."--Jacket. Malintzin was the indigenous woman who translated for Hernando Cortes in his dealings with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma in the days of 1519 to 1521. This study of Malintzin's life rejects the myths and tries to restore dignity to the profoundly human men and women who lived and died in those days. Pelican's kingdom The men from the boats One of us people here Tenochtitlan Water-pouring song Reed mats The concubine speaks Doña María Don Martín