The Youngest Doll

by Rosario Ferré, Jean Franco (Foreword)

A gentle maiden aunt who has been victimized for years unexpectedly retaliates through her talent for making life-sized dolls filled with honey. “The Youngest Doll,” based on a family anecdote, is a stunning literary expression of Rosario Ferré’s feminist and social concerns. It is the premier story in a collection that was originally published in Spanish in 1976 as Papeles de Pandora and is now translated into English by the author. The daughter of a former governor of Puerto Rico, Ferré portrays women loosening the constraints that have bound them to a patriarchal culture. Anger takes creative rather than polemical form in ten stories that started Ferré on her way to becoming a leading woman writer in Latin America. The upper-middle-class women in The Youngest Doll , mostly married to macho men, rebel against their doll-like existence or retreat into fantasy, those without money or the right skin color are even more oppressed. In terms of power and influence, these women stand in the same relation to men as Puerto Rico itself does to the United States, and Ferré stretches artistic boundaries in writing about their situation. The stories, moving from the realistic to the nightmarish, are deeply, felt, full of irony and black humor, often experimental in form. The imagery is an architect dreams about a beautiful bridge that “would open and close its arches like alligators making love”; a Mercedes Benz “shines in the dark like a chromium rhinoceros.” One story, “The Sleeping Beauty,” is a collage of letters, announcements, and photo captions that allows chilling conclusions to be drawn from what is not written. The collection includes Ferré’s discussion of “When Women Love Men,” a story about a prostitute and a society lady who unite in order to survive, and one that illustrates the woman writer’s “art of dissembling anger through irony.” In closing, she considers how her experience as a Latin American woman with ties to the United States has brought to her writing a dual cultural perspective.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Magical Realism, Horror, Classics, Spanish Literature, Fantasy

171 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Rosario Ferré was born in Puerto Rico, where her father served as governor. She was best known for her novels and short stories. In 1992, Ferré was awarded the Liberatur Prix award at the Frankfurt Book Fair for the German translation of her novel Sweet Diamond Dust. She was a finalist for the National Book Award for her novel The House on the Lagoon in 1995.

Reviews

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing fiction that effectively addresses the classism and sexism endemic to a society can easily go awry, either by striking the points too much on the nose, or by burying the messages beneath too many layers of subtle prose. In these stories Rosario Ferré neatly sidesteps both pitfalls, instead painting vivid wordscapes that illuminate with perfect clarity the historical injustice of Puerto Rican society.

This was Ferré's debut collection. originally published in Spanish in 1976. Technically these stories fall under the umbrella of magical realism, but Ferré also identifies with a lineage of European women writers such as Woolf, Nin, and de Beauvoir. She frequently utilizes shifting points-of-view and a fluid concept of time while maintaining a strong undercurrent of sociopolitical and feminist critique throughout the collection. Members of the lower classes subvert the dominant paradigm of an exploitative upper class thriving on patriarchal control. Vengeance on the rich and powerful is systematically meted out, either directly from below or through fate. Interestingly, Ferré's father served as governor of Puerto Rico, so she undoubtedly had some firsthand insight into the machinations of island politics, as well as the island's economic realities.

Several stories feature a doll motif: in 'The Youngest Doll' a woman makes life-size dolls for her nieces; in 'Amalia' the line between doll life and human life blurs; and in 'Marina and the Lion' a woman dresses as a doll for a costume party, even having herself enclosed in a box wrapped with cellophane. In 'Sleeping Beauty' Ferré spins out a cleverly circuitous plot through a collage of letters, newspaper society columns, and stream-of-consciousness fragments. A few of the stories share characters and settings, thus tying together narrative tendrils that tighten the cohesion of the collection. And the endings are particularly impressive—often either mysteriously ambiguous or shattering in their revelations.

Ferré translated these stories into English herself, either alone or with a co-translator. At the end of the book she includes an essay on the complexities of translation, both from the perspective of a Puerto Rican woman, and as a writer translating her own written words. To me the translations read as pitch-perfect, and the book is by far one of the most consistently intriguing story collections I've read recently. (4.5)

[Vilis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sirreāli stāsti par sievietēm, kas pārvēršas lellēs, cita citā un vienkārši izgaist Puertoriko tveicē. Reizēm šis tas pazūd abstrakcijās, tomēr lielākoties gabali ir atmiņā paliekoši

[pizca · Rating 3 out of 5]

"pero si mi marido y yo no quedábamos nada, usted está loco, doctor, INCESTO, IN-cesto, in the basket, encestó, señora, el cesto de la basura, el vicio de los pobres, el diez por ciento de las familias puertorriqueñas se comete incesto, es la urgencia natural del hombre cuando se acuesta la madre con las hijitas, ya usted sabe en la oscuridad no se sabe, winstontastedgood like a cigarette should, pero también es el vicio de los ricos, es el vicio de todo el mundo".
°
Ferré dice «la ira ha sido el incentivo para que muchas mujeres escriban bien». Ella que luchó- escribió contra la clase social burguesa (a la que pertenecía) y el patriarcado,e intentó mediante su escritura denunciar los estereotipos femeninos difundidos por esta.
Eso encontramos en estos relatos :mujeres de clase alta y prostitutas que comparten el mismo hombre, mujeres que se vengan con muñecas, mujeres cuya vida es dirigida por su familia, su marido y la iglesia.
"No es correcto que una niña bien se disloque la pelvis, porque las niñas bien tienen vaginas de plata".
Me encanta como usa el una niña bien, una mujer de bien no hace ... "Una señora bien educada no baila".
Y esos machos que dirigen a su antojo "mi matrimonio no es sino otra empresa más de la cual yo, cueste lo que me cueste, voy a hacer un éxito".
También hay una crítica al imperialismo dominante, le falta gritar un "levántense carajo".
Y todo esto usando a su antojo el lenguaje. Vivió como quiso y escribió de la misma manera. Yo misma he tenido que hacer "rewind" para comprender algunos pasajes.
Es como si tuviera un poder extraensorial fortísimo y todo lo que capta lo plasma con una narración que te arroya conforme lees.
Una gozada.

[Jaqueline Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

En promedio 3.7
No sé ni cómo hablar de un libro que me ha dejado desarmada. La calificación puede parecer baja, pero había momentos en que me sacudía, por su escritura y el lenguaje duro y sin florituras del sistema patriarcal en el que esta enmarcado cada relato, cada prosa y poema.
En este libro, Ferré, en sus relatos, que están situados en Puerto Rico y siempre con esa linea divisoria entre USA, nos relata la crema y nata de su sociedad, sin maquillar nada, dejando al descubierto esa vida superficial que a todas horas y en cada resquicio de luz solapa al machismo.
Eso sí, siempre pone en escena, como esa sociedad rica, roza el proletariado, como lo coloca en la atmósfera de la suciedad, donde de alguna manera se ven envueltos, como si fueran pecados inevitables.
Rosario, utiliza alegorías en todos sus relatos, leones que representan poder, árboles: cómo símbolos de paz, aves: como muerte, camarones, como parásitos, muñecas como mujeres, etc.
Un libro potente, con crítica hacía la sociedad burguesa, hacía las apariencias, hacía todos esos pequeños comportamientos machistas que muchas veces terminan en sangre.
Por mencionar los relatos que más me han gustado:
La muñeca menor
La bella durmiente
Marina y el León
Amalia
Mercedes Benz 200SL
El Cuento envenenado
Etc...

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I read only the title story:

A surreal story of revenge and the creative ways in which women overcome patriarchal society.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the title story, "Sleeping Beauty", and the essay on translation. An excerpt:

Translating one's own literary work is, in short, a complex, disturbing occupation. It can be diabolic and obsessive: it is one of the few instances when one can be dishonest and feel good about it, rather like having a second chance at redressing one's fatal mistakes in life and living a different way... "The loyal translator will write what is correct," the devil whispers exultantly in one's ear, "but not necessarily what is right."

All which adds to my appreciation of Megan McDowell (Things We Lost in the Fire, Fever Dream), Kathryn Phillips-Miles (Nona's Room), Tina Kover (The Beauty of the Death Cap), Asa Yoneda (The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories)...

I blasted through the collection in a couple days. The shorter pieces in particular have significant overlap in theme and voice; I might have enjoyed them more if I had spaced them out. "Sleeping Beauty" takes a totally different approach, which I appreciated.

[Florencia Rabuco Quiroga · Rating 4 out of 5]

La voz de Rosario Ferré necesita ser reeditada, republicada y reestudiada en Latinoamérica. Su narrativa no deja de removerme y hacerme doler el patriarcado desde lo más sensible. De este libro amo mucho La muñeca menor y La bella durmiente.

[Gabriela Seguesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites: The Youngest Doll, The Poisoned Story, The Dreamer's Portrait, Amalia, When Women Love Men.

[Marianne Villanueva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosario Ferré has only one story to tell -- women are dolls, primped and fashioned for display -- but she tells it beautifully. Her language is rich with imagery.

My suggestion? Read this book one story at a time, with lots of time in between stories, so that you forget a little bit and then go back. If you try and read the entire book at one go, individual stories lose their freshness.

Loved the stories, not so much the two essays that end the book -- they tell you how the stories are meant to be read. Sort of, a reader's guide to Rosario Ferré.

[Charleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book to put it in one word is amazing. It is an anthology of short stories with complimentary poems. Ferré crowns herself as a literary genius with this book. She uses techniques like stream of consciousness to present the complicated life and portrayal of women in Puerto Rican society. This book approaches and captures Puerto Rican culture and society and mainly the many phases of women. The stories are deliciously complicated and enthralling.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: death, cheating, misogyny, slut shaming, hit and run.

This is a rather peculiar collection of short stories. Some of them I very much enjoyed (like the titular Youngest Doll). Others, not so much. And some just flat out left me confused, due to the fact that some stories were basically one big run-on sentence.

Still, I'm glad I read it - I've never read anything set in Puerto Rico before, and I've been meaning to read more collections of short stories!

[jessica]

Whilst I find myself enjoying Ferré's writing, for some reason I'm not doing so good at consuming short stories right now. The 8 stories I've read so far have been beautifully written, albeit quite surreal. Putting this collection aside for now, but I am keeping it for a later date. Might try a novel of her's first before I pick this back up.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crazy and creepy in a way that only Latin authors can be.

[Paula (paulareads_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

tengo que decir que me ha gustado mucho leerla, aunque también tengo que reconocer que algunos relatos me han costado por la forma en la que están escritos. pero leer a Ferré ha sido una experiencia enriquecedora.

en estos relatos y poemas, Ferré crítica la situación de la mujer en cuanto a los roles que se le asigna. también hace una crítica a la alta sociedad puertorriqueña. lo hace con una narración un tanto surrealista y llena de metáforas haciendo que cada relato o poema sea único e intrigante.

a modo de consejo, si lo leéis, sugiero que acompañéis los relatos con otra lectura, para que sean más fáciles de leer y entender.

[Inés ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really enjoy

[Rogue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tonymess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puerto Rico is not generally a stop on my literature travels, and it is only through my decision to read my way through the “10 Essential Spanish-Language Books” as highlighted in Publisher’s Weekly that I came across this collection of short stories from Rosario Ferré, “The Youngest Doll”. My stay, for Spanish Literature Month, in the Central American regions has been prolonged even further. And given we are nearly at the end of July I am going to read and review a number of translated Spanish language works without actually getting to Spain itself.

As pointed out in the Foreword, Puerto Rico is “the only country in the world which is still attached to the United States without being fully integrated as a state nor fully autonomous.” This Americanization has had a massive impact on Puerto Rican identity, and this collection creatively explores this “identity” through a number of techniques. More on the techniques used later.
But this collection is not simply an exercise in exploring the cultural identity of a nation, these stories also highlight the patriarchy prevalent in the Puerto Rican society, a strong feminist work one that I would thoroughly recommend for Women In Translation Month next month.
Patriarchy in Puerto Rico has divided women into the “decent” upper-class women whole role is to become mothers and ornamental hostesses, guardians of the purity of the family, and an army of marginalized women – the mistresses and prostitutes, the servants and nurses. Patriarchal society tries to keep these women separate by caging decent women within the home to protect them from the outside world; yet that outside world constantly invades the upper-class home through the subversive presence of servants, nurses, and nannies. Foreword by Jean Franco
The early stories in the collection you know from the opening paragraph whether it is a story of the “upper-class” women or the marginalized women, with the settings being the “balcony”, the “canefields” or phrases such as “father supervise the workers” letting you know immediately whether white or blue is their collar colour.
The title story opens the collection, a tale of a maiden aunt who is bitten on the leg and inhabited by a prawn. Each year she makes a doll for her two nieces, life sized at the time of making and continues to make them right up until the time they are married. Her final doll being elaborate, decorated with jewels and filled with honey…
Politics is not far from the surface and the short story “The Poisoned Story” is told in two voices, the writer and Rosa, a second wife who criticizes the “two-bit writer” for being melodramatic and practical:

For my full review go to https://messybooker.wordpress.com/201...

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosario Ferre translated this collection of stories herself. If you want to experience Puerto Rican culture (vicariously of course) this author is definitely worth reading. Ferre brilliantly deconstructs the limited roles Puerto Rican women have traditionally been assigned. I've read both the original and translated versions as a graduate student but also as an instructor of Caribbean literature in the Netherlands. "When Women Love Men" had the greatest impact on intertwining the prostitute and the lady, the black and the white woman, the poor and the rich in one character, Isabel. Each story is a provocative interrogation of "Pandora's Roles" (direct translation of the title) that is still relevant today.

[Reb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorites that I have read in a Literature class. This book goes so far into the fantasy element of Literature, and it is fascinating. Rosario Ferre has the best imagination. The imagery and the intense, detailed descriptions keeps the reader off of their seats. Every story in this book is so creative! This type of writing is very hard to master because it is so risky. The story has to be entertaining and a little extreme, but not to the point of confusion or just unbelievable. Every story will leave the reader absolutely stunned and completely intrigued. This book is amazing is every which way. This book is written by a true professional and this book is a masterpiece.

[Nadria Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is so well-written that it's hard to believe it's a translation and that it wasn't crafted in English originally. The stories in this collection explore the lives of women who cannot escape the ever-present image of the doll. Young girls should play with dolls; women should look like dolls. But in these stories about life in Puerto Rico, women aren't content to just sit there and be dolls--that's where conflict and themes of gender inequality come in. These stories are as gorgeous as they are insightful. A master-class in short fiction.

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a review in Dutch, see message 35 of Summer Challenge 2015

I really liked the stories in De jongste pop. Not only did they give me a bit of an historicial background, but they also shed some light on present day life in Puerto Rico.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love the stories in this book. I used them for two separate projects as an undergrad, and I really wish I could find the English translation currently published; so far I've only ever been able to find it in libraries. But the stories are haunting and sensuous and they stay with you for a long time.

[Joanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of a final project in my Latin American Women Writers course in college and I loved it. I need to track down a copy and read it again as well as other works by Ferre. Maybe I'll read it in English this time though.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved about reading this book (thanks for the recommendation Liv) was that it unspooled itself slowly and could be taken in small doses. The "feel" of all of these stories is similar, but the execution of the narrative is different in each. A great short story collection.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read Rosario Ferre before and enjoyed her stories . . you cannot look straight on at these stories, they have so many angles and shadows. The layers of possible interpretations are fun to discover. I will read this agian . . .and probably keep coming back to it.

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read, every story was experimenting with some other interesting form of narrative and they were all SO WEIRD! Some were harder to read and understand than others, but short stories are always good!

[Hope Wabuke · Rating 5 out of 5]

ghostly, in the space of lovely surreal oddities.
the first sentence
!

[Rachel Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

some stunning stories here. just beautiful. also some stories that didn't make a lot of sense to me. but definitely worth looking at.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The English version of this book appeared fifteen years after the Spanish original. !Que viva University of Nebraska Press! for publishing it.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Potentially my favorite collection of short stories ever.