Mexican literature -- Translations into English; Mexican prose literature
Among the gifts with which the Tabasqueños desired to demonstrate their
submission, were twenty women, of whom one was notable for her
extraordinary beauty. Malintzin, the girl who had been cruelly thrust
out from the parental home, was this woman. They baptized her under the
name of Marina, which the Aztecs pronounced Malintzin. “When the
Conqueror received her as a gift from the lords of Tabasco, in company
with the other women, he distributed to each captain his woman, giving
Malintzin to the Cavalier Alonso Hernández Portocarrero, who was cousin
of the Count of Medellin.” So says the biographer to whom we have
referred.
Continuing this imperfect narrative, we may say that Malintzin was
useful to the conquerors from their arrival at Vera Cruz, since she knew
the Aztec language,--although we cannot explain how she could, in a few
days, learn the Spanish to discharge the rôle of interpreter so
perfectly as historians declare. However that may be, this Indian woman
appears as one of the most notable characters in the epic poem of the
Conquest. To detail her doings in this biography, would be to reproduce
the whole history of the Conquest of Mexico, and good books abound for
furnishing the data, which anyone may especially desire. We limit
ourselves to giving a few further notices regarding Malintzin and to
saying some words in her defense.
As has been said Hernández Portocarrero was the fortunate Spaniard to
whose lot the beautiful Indian maiden of Painala fell. In spite of
this, the chroniclers of the expedition state that Cortes had a son by
Marina and there is no doubt that he maintained love relations with her
until 1523. In that year, he married her definitely to Juan de
Jaramillo, who, in spite of his noble rank, had no embarrassment in
uniting himself to the woman whom Cortes abandoned.
He, passing to Coatzacoalco, called together the lords of the province,
and among them Marina’s mother and step-father, who immediately
recognized her and plainly showed their fear that the young woman would
avenge herself for the infamous act which had brought her into the
position in which she found herself. Far from it; Marina gave them
splendid gifts and treated her injurers well--not without making some
parade of her bearing a son to Cortes. In this expedition, took place
the infamous execution of Cuauhtemoczin and Marina figures as aiding him
to a pious death.
The Conquest ended, nothing more is heard of Marina until 1550, when she
still lived and complained to the viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, that the
Indians of Jilantongo did not pay the tribute nor yield the service, to
which they were obligated.
The year and place of her death are not known. There is nothing more to
state save that the son of Cortes by Marina was named Martin and that he
figures badly in Mexican history.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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