“In most families, girls had no business doing anything except learning to cook, clean, sew, and care for babies.”

In this quote, Petra highlights the gender norms of her cultural and historical context, which dictate that women belong in the home. Petra’s praise for her father always encouraging her to live outside of these boundaries suggests that she has no intention of living within these cultural limitations.

“Our quiet village no longer had the heart to celebrate anything, and the only talk these days was about the revolution.”

In the midst of the Mexican Revolution, Petra’s once happy and peaceful village now lives in perpetual fear of raids from the Federales. This quote highlights the heavy and negative impact the war has had on the nation as a whole.

“My home, my life – everything I knew was gone. There was nothing to come back to.”

The Mexican Revolution has turned Petra’s life upside down. Not only has her father been forced to fight in the war, but once the Federales burn their house to the ground, there is no choice but for Petra and her family to leave their former life behind for a new one.