Throughout the novel, the Corregidora women’s bodies are compared to gold. Very early in the book, Corregidora describes the young Great Gram as a “[l]ittle gold piece” (10).  Later on, Ursa remembers sitting in Great Gram’s lap and staring at her “palms like sunburnt gold” (12). This is then applied to Ursa when Mutt says, “You’re pussy’s a little gold piece, ain’t it, Urs?” (60). Ursa’s mother then uses this expression again when she is repeating Great Gram’s experiences to Ursa, saying that Great Gram was his favorite “little gold pussy, his little gold piece” and that Great Gram would recollect that “he said my pussy bring gold” (124).

All of these instances of their bodies being compared to gold reduce them to objects. In this case, gold is a beautiful object that connotes wealth. From the references to gold, it’s clear that the men in these women’s lives value their beauty and their ability to make money over any other qualities they might possess. There is also a hint of irony since gold is often associated with luck, and the women in the novel are anything but lucky.