DGSC Character Focus - Rebecca

In the novel Dirty Girls Social Club written by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, many characters were privileged in some ways, but oppressed in others. The character I would like to focus on is Rebecca. The first interaction that we have with Rebecca in the book is through Lauren's eyes. We find out initially that she seems privileged in a number of ways. Firstly, we see her arriving for the Sucias dinner, "driving cautiously in her brand-new burgundy Jeep Grand Cherokee,"  and we find out that she is not used to lower end areas when Lauren says, "I can see from the nervous way she peers around as she trots through the snow toward us that she’s not exactly comfortable in this part of town," (31-33 Rodriguez). This would initially believe us to believe she is rather privileged, as the many factors of her life have benefited her in a way that she has never had to reside in a struggling part of town. Our beliefs of privilege in money are confirmed when we find out that she owns her own magazine. This relates to the things that she is oppressed by as well however, because she is in the public spotlight she has to constantly remain on top of the things trying to drag her down. In the story we see her main factors of oppression being her race and her gender. Her husband relates to this because even though they are married, the husband's family likes Becca less based on her heritage and race. She is also limited to who she can be interested in because of family. Her family is hugely into race, religion, and what they think is best for Becca. She likes Andre, and even though in the end Rebecca ends up happy it is still important to not the important events between Becca and Andre. Becca's mother is racist, as she really pushes against the thought of Becca dating a person of color (especially since she thinks marrying a white man was the best thing for Becca to do). This relates to our marriage concept as well, because you can see that certain marriages are frowned upon by certain individuals because they don't meet the societal norm of what marriage looks like, and thus they become an oddity of sorts (similar to what we saw in the TLC videos). These factors all influence Becca's romantic relationship, and after Brad she seems to find happiness within the comfort of Andre. I would say that while love can not fix the issues she faces with being a woman of Latina descent, it does help her find happiness and she does what she thinks is best for herself, so it does help her find herself (even through the oppression that she faces from society and her personal relationships). This is in my opinion realistic, as when one finds true love it can lead to a plethora of benefits and make your life truly change for the better, even if it can't fix EVERY problem you might face.