In this exercise, you need to read the text on page 113 and mark these sentences as true or false, then correct the false ones.

1. The protagonist thinks she is a beautiful woman.
**False**
*La protagonista piensa que es una mujer más o menos fea.*
The protagonist thinks she is a kind-of ugly woman.

2. According to her, a mediocre woman doesn’t have enemies but neither has friends.
**False**
*Según ella, una mujer mediocre no tiene enemigos y tiene pocos amigos.*
According to her, a mediocre woman doesn’t have enemies and has few friends.

3. The woman in *Autorretrato* states that she doesn’t want many friends.
**True**

4. She loves her son, even if he judges her.
**False**
*Ella ama a su hijo, aunque algún día vaya a juzgarla.*
She loves her son, even if one day he is going to judge her.

5. The protagonist is a poet, teacher and journalist.
**True**

6. She doesn’t go to the movies, the theater or expositions frequently.
**True**

7. She hates loneliness and prefers to visit expositions and premieres.
**False**
*Ella prefiere estar leyendo en silencio y pensar en la oscuridad.*
She prefers to be reading in silence and thinking in the dark.

8. She says she wasn’t taught how to be happy, but she was taught how to cry.
**True**

In this exercise, you need to read the poem on page 113 and answer these questions with full sentences.

1. What is the trophy that is talked about in the beginning of the poem? What is its importance in the life of the woman in *Autorretrato*?

You could answer:

*El trofeo es su edad. Es importante para ella porque es la muestra de todo lo que hizo en su vida y los años que pasaron.*

The trophy is her age. It’s important to her because it’s the proof of everything she has done in her life and the years that went by.

2. What does she think her appearance (being fat or thin) depends on? And the color of her hair? Can she change these things?

You could answer:

*Para ella, su apariencia depende de las posiciones de los astros y los ciclos glandulares, además de otros factores. No puede cambiar su apariencia, pero sí puede cambiar el color de su pelo, que depende de la peluca que elija.*

For her, her appearance depends on the position of the stars and glandular cycles, besides other factors. She can’t change her appearance, but she can change her hair color, which depends on the wig she chooses.

3. Why do you think being mediocre gives her the friendship of the men she describes? Do you think these men are also mediocre? Explain your answer.

You could answer:

*Ser mediocre le da la amistad de esos hombres porque están buscando una esposa que puedan conquistar. Ellos también son mediocres, entonces no pueden conquistar a mujeres extraordinarias.*

Being mediocre gives her the friendship of those men because they are looking for a wife they can attain. They are also mediocre, so they cannot attain extraordinary women.

4. Do you think this woman behaves the way society indicates? Do you think she appreciates her environment and is happy with her position in life, or the opposite? Give examples.

You could answer:

*No, ella no se comporta de la manera que indica la sociedad. Ella no está feliz con su vida y su entorno, por ejemplo, piensa que se viste mal y hace el ridículo cuando quiere coquetear con alguien, y piensa que no sabe cómo ser feliz.*

No, she doesn’t behave the way society indicates. She isn’t happy with her life and her environment, for instance, she thinks she dresses badly and is ridiculous when she is trying to flirt with someone, and she thinks she doesn’t know how to be happy.

5. In what way is the mechanism of crying broken for her? In your opinion, what kind of people cry when their rice burns or they lose a receipt?

You could answer:

*Su mecanismo de llorar está descompuesto porque no llora en los momentos en los que se supone que tendría que llorar, pero llora con los pequeños inconvenientes. Las personas que lloran por las cosas pequeñas son las que están tristes todo el tiempo.*

Her crying mechanism is broken because she doesn’t cry in the moments she is supposed to cry, but she cries at the small inconveniences. People who cry at small inconveniences are the people who are sad all the time.

In this exercise, you need to read the poem on page 113 and answer these questions in pairs.

1. Do you think the narrative voice is close to that of the author? Why?

You could answer:

*Sí, pienso que es cercana, porque el poema se llama “Autorretrato”. Quiere decir que lo escribió sobre ella misma.*

Yes, I think it’s close, because the poem is called “self-portrait”. This means she wrote it about herself.

2. Remember the characteristics of traditional poetry and look for examples of each in the poem.

You could answer:

*Las características de la poesía tradicional son la rima (por ejemplo, entre las líneas 35 y 38, hay una rima entre “otros” y “periódico”), y las metáforas (por ejemplo, llama a las amigas “los espejos”).*

The characteristics of traditional poetry are rhyme (for instance, in lines 35-38, there is a rhyme between “otros” and “periódico”) and metaphors (for instance, she calls friends “mirrors”).

3. What kind of reader do you think this poem is addressed to? Why?

You could answer:

*Este poema está dirigido a personas que sientan cosas similares a la protagonista, para que puedan identificarse con sus sentimientos.*

The poem is addressed to people who feel similar things to the protagonist, so that they can relate to her feelings.

4. Do you relate to the poem? Why?

You could answer:

*Sí, me identifico, porque yo también lloro sólo con los pequeños inconvenientes que me ocurren.*

Yes, I relate, because I also cry at the small inconveniences that happen to me.

In this exercise, you need to read the poem on page 113 and explain what the author means in each of these verses, in the context of the poem.

1. “In reality, my hair grows whiter, whiter.”

You could answer:

*Este verso quiere decir que, aunque intente, la autora no puede escapar del paso del tiempo.*
This verse means that, even if she tries, the author can’t escape the passage of time.

2. “Generally, I avoid mirrors.”

You could answer:

*Este verso quiere decir que a la autora no le gusta estar cerca de personas que reflejen su actitud, o le digan a ella cómo es.*
This verse means that the author doesn’t like being close to people who reflect her attitude, or tell her how she is.

3. “Meanwhile, I love him.”

You could answer:

*Este verso quiere decir que la autora ama a su hijo aunque sepa que tal vez en algún momento del futuro cometa errores o tenga acciones negativas.*
This verse means that the author loves her son even if she knows that at some point in the future he might make mistakes or have negative actions.

4. “I’d be happy if I knew how.”

You could answer:

*Este verso significa que la autora está acostumbrada a estar triste, y no sabe qué hacer para estar feliz y ser optimista.*
This verse means that the author is used to being sad, and she doesn’t know what to do to be happy and optimistic.

In this exercise, you need to read the poem on page 113 and then write a portrait of the woman in the poem, from the point of view of the society she belongs in, choosing a fictional poetic voice, taking into consideration the expectations there are on her. Write it in the form of colloquial poetry.

So, you could write:

* *Rosario, señora, se levanta a la mañana
sale de su cama
y todos los días elige el mismo camino.
Se mira al espejo y decide
que no vale la pena mejorar lo que ve,
que no vale la pena intentar ocultar su tristeza.
Rosario, llega todos los días
con la camisa abotonada al revés
con la sonrisa abotonada al revés
y con el cabello oscuro,
que contrasta con las canas que salen
por debajo de la peluca.*

* Rosario, madame, she gets up each morning
gets out of bed
and every day she chooses the same path
She looks in the mirror and decides
that it’s not worth it to improve what she sees
that it’s not worth it to try and hide her sadness.
Rosario, she arrives each day
with her shirt buttoned upside down
with her smile buttoned upside down
and with dark hair,
contrasting the white hairs that leak
from the bottom of her wig.