All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith

family, how they all interact.”
    With an eye to Mercedes’s interest in the life/works connection, I took up this line, “Yes, and Austen had one sister, with whom she was very close her whole life.”
    A rash of cross-talking broke out again, the others still interested in either defending or attacking Mrs. Bennet, until Mercedes cut back through it to say, “ Hasta la fecha , mothers have this concern about the reputation and status of the family.”
    This was the first use somebody made of the expression “to this day” (or literally, “to the date”), but it wouldn’t be the last. I had deliberately avoided any questions about how the book might connect to their own lives, wanting to see if, when, and how the question might come up naturally. And here it was.
    â€œUnfortunately,” Élida added, “lots of them are more concerned about status than they are about the happiness of their children.”
    On this point, there was no dissension. “And when a ladino marries a Maya, watch out!” Ladino is the word often used to describe Guatemalans of Spanish, nonindigenous descent. While not all indigenous people are Mayan, many Guatemalans use the term “Mayan” broadly to mean indigenous.
    â€œIt’s the big prejudice we have here! I’ve actually heard people use the expression ‘ Hay que mejorar la raza ,’” Mercedes said indignantly. “‘We’ve got to improve the race.’ We shouldn’t mix with the Maya. But we’re already mixed, we’re all a mezcla !”
    Ã‰lida echoed, “ Hay que mejorar la raza ,” shaking her head sadly while the others nodded yes, they’re a mix, una mezcla .
    â€œAsk anybody here and, of course, they’re pure Spanish. Nobody wants to admit to being Mayan,” Mercedes added. “Why are people ashamed of this? Look at how sophisticated their civilization was. Students are always interested in the Maya, and they ask us so innocently, ‘Are you Mayan?’ They don’t understand what that means to people here, how angry some people get if you ask them that!”
    â€œIt’s so common, this prejudice,” Nora and the others agreed. Given the role of race in Guatemala’s civil wars—indigenous people were systematically oppressed by the various military leaders—the discussion took on a somber feel until Mercedes moved us into more neutral territory.
    â€œToo many marriages are just like contracts,” she said. “They’re for appearances, for status. Hasta la fecha , it’s what happens here. That marriage between Charlotte and Mr. Collins—terrible! I don’t like that a bit.”
    A chorus of “me neither’s” filled the hotel lobby, along with variations on “Money’s not going to make you happy,” uttered simultaneously. Their disapproval of the match was so strong, I couldn’t resist playing devil’s advocate.
    â€œBut look how it helps Charlotte’s family,” I pointed out. “And now she’s got her own household.” Heads were shaken and brows were furrowed; they weren’t buying it.
    I was surprised by their attitude. Parsing through my reaction, I confronted an ugly assumption—not the first one I’d made in Latin America (and, unfortunately, not the last). As the conversation swirled on around me, I realized I’d assumed that their frustration with men would lead them to, well, get a little cynical about relationships. If men see women as lesser beings and objectify them, then why not objectify men right back? Why not marry the man who’s going to inherit Longbourn? What’s the difference between one provider and another, as long as he’s providing enough?
    But these women hadn’t fallen into the trap of objectifying the objectifier, however much they resented being taken less seriously than they deserved. I knew that two