Leslie Silko's Yellow Woman
Seducing Seduction In the story Yellow Woman, the narrator awakens on the sand of a river bank with a man she does not know. She was from the pueblo that was located across from the river where she found herself, importantly on the other side from where she was. Author Leslie Silko was told about this fictional spirit “ka’tsina”, who seduced the yellow woman, from her grandfather. In Yellow Woman author Silko tells the ancient story through the eyes of a contemporary woman. The myth allows the reader to emotionally step across a border into a world where a mythological figure can become real in a modern day setting. The reader, like the narrator, both find themselves on the other side of the river, or perhaps an alternate reality. Yellow woman is the figure of the pueblo Indian myth, but in todays’ time.
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“My thighs clung to his with dampness,” instinctually shows that she and this man, who is a stranger to her, had sex the night before (Silko, 256). After she awakens him to let him know that she is leaving, he replies to her “You are coming with me, remember?” (Silko, 256). She is not really thinking about her actions as she willingly goes with him. It is as if he has not only sexually seduced her but has emotionally seduced her as well. He refers to her as “yellow woman,” which entices her as she was told “the old stories about
“My thighs clung to his with dampness,” instinctually shows that she and this man, who is a stranger to her, had sex the night before (Silko, 256). After she awakens him to let him know that she is leaving, he replies to her “You are coming with me, remember?” (Silko, 256). She is not really thinking about her actions as she willingly goes with him. It is as if he has not only sexually seduced her but has emotionally seduced her as well. He refers to her as “yellow woman,” which entices her as she was told “the old stories about