SOURCE: Martínez, Eliud. “Personal Vision in the Short Stories of Estela Portillo Trambley.” In Beyond Stereotypes: The Critical Analysis of Chicana Literature, edited by María Herrera-Sobek, pp. 71-90. Binghamton, N.Y.: Bilingual Press, 1985.

In the following essay, Martínez asserts that Portillo Trambley's personal vision challenges traditional assumptions regarding the nature and function of Chicano literature.

This book is designed to bring the sexes closer together, not to set them apart by placing one above the other. If in these pages the natural superiority of women is emphasized, it is because the fact has thus far received far too little attention. …

—Ashley Montagu, The Natural Superiority of Women

In recent years, some Chicano writers have dealt increasingly in their works with larger realms of human experience, history, and knowledge. This expansion of artistic vision is reflected in the complex narrative styles, language, forms, and techniques which...