What's behind your mask? Every minute of every day, people wear a mask; use it to disguise, conceal or conceal. Masks come in many different forms and are used by a variety of people. We all wear a mask, some more than others, hiding everything we really feel and our true identity. We never want to reveal our most personal feelings and thoughts to society for fear of ridicule. Therefore, those who feel misery continually wear the mask of happiness and smile every day, without ever revealing their true identity. Sandra Cisneros writes about the mask that the main character Cleofilas illustrates in her daily life of misery with her husband in the short story “Women Hollering Creek.” Cleofilas never had a real-life example of how to be a woman, a wife, and a mother other than the fictional lives of women in telenovelas. When she finally experiences these things, knowing right from wrong, Cleofilas feels obligated to endure the difficulties because it is her duty as a wife, mother and woman. Cleofilas is trapped in a restrictive, culturally assigned gender role due to her violent marriage and poverty. Cisneros illustrates that when constantly wearing a mask, the person ends up unknowingly becoming that mask and never takes it off. The mask we once used to protect ourselves causes more and more damage as time goes by; losing ourselves and ignoring that the mask is even present. Cleofilas, in the short story “Women Hollering Creek,” lives a life of misery and lies. The story begins with Cleofilas reminiscing about her own marriage, thinking about how her father's words "I am your father, I will never abandon you" (104) have much more meaning now that she is- same parent. She realizes a parent's love for ...... middle of paper ...... hair. She tries to escape the life she leads by anything possible. Cleofilas is unaware that this mask even exists and tries to make everything as close to how telenovelas depict what a marriage and a woman should be while losing his true self. She puts aside her true dreams of passion and happiness to satisfy her husband and family. Cleófilas' lifestyle does not allow her to understand anything outside of what is expected of her. She can't even imagine a pleasant world as a woman. When she hears about Woman Hollering Creek, something consumes her to find out why this woman was screaming. However, due to her own range of emotions, she can only choose between "whether the woman cried out in anger or in pain" (106). The traditional Mexican woman can only experience negative feelings. There is no happy liberation for the passive and submissive Mexicana..