“I am the one who gets to say”: Women, Power, and History in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

In constructing the historical narrative of Mexico in 1949, Cormac McCarthy’s cast of characters in All the Pretty Horses tends to be, as is represented in the history, primarily male. It is a story where female characters are not often foregrounded because they are not often there. Some have read this exclusion as a misogynistic impression in literature. However, this type of gendered reading of ATPH utilizes almost no intertextual observations outside of stereotypical, binary gender assignments. If factors such as age, religion, geography, culture, and political situations are considered, the character of Alfonsa Rocha would provide ample evidence to the contrary. When placed in the context of the historical tradition of mid-twentieth-century Mexico, Dueña Alfonsa refutes the idea of obviation and limitation as McCarthy crafts a narrative that accentuates her access to power in general and her decision to deploy this power in particular.