“Only Daughter” Annotation

Author: Sandra Cisseneros

Brief Overview: Within “Only Daughter,” Sandra Cisseneros details her family dynamic, and specifically the relationship she shares with her father, by outlining the juxtaposition between his attitude toward her writing and her career-centered desires.

Important Vocabulary: Anthology, meaning a published collection of poems or other pieces of writing. Fellini, otherwise known as Federico Fellini, was an Italian film director who was one of the most celebrated and distinctive filmmakers of the period after World War II. Galavisión, a US-based, Spanish-language cable network owned by Univision Communications, Inc.

Notable Quotes: “In retrospect, I’m lucky my father believed daughters were meant for husbands. It meant it didn’t matter if I majored in something silly like English.” “When my oldest brother graduated from medical school, he fulfilled
my father’s dream that we study hard and use this—our heads, instead of this—our hands.” “He kept reading. When he was finally finished, after what seemed like hours, my father looked up and asked: ‘Where can we get more copies of this for the relatives?’ Of all the wonderful things that happened to me last year, that was the most wonderful.”

Initial Reactions: The final page of this personal essay was raw and relatable, and illustrated well the anticipation Cisseneros felt before allowing her father to read her work. Although this scenario is personal to the author and largely dissimilar than anything I have experienced, it was not difficult to find familiarity with and pieces of myself in the scene.