Countless marriages are destroyed because one partner takes up drinking. This is problematic because excessive alcohol abuse causes the consumer to become violent, which strains the relationship they have with their spouse. Eventually, this relationship begins to deteriorate all together. Almost every marriage in which one person becomes addicted to alcohol becomes unsalvageable, which forces the spouse to leave the addicted and abusive partner. Such was the case of Cleofilas Enriqueta DeLeon Hernandez. Cleofilas was a young Hispanic woman who fell in love with and married a man named Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez.
In the beginning their marriage was a happy one; until one day Juan fell to drinking. He became increasingly violent until he finally became so abusive that Cleofilas couldn’t take it anymore. She fled with their baby son and left her husband. I believe very strongly that this woman was right to leave her husband because he didn’t respect her, it was dangerous for him to be around their child, and he physically abused her. The first reason that I believe Cleofilas made the right decision in leaving her husband is because he didn’t respect her.
Every woman deserves to be treated with respect; by her friends, by her children, and especially by her husband. Mutual respect is vital in order for any relationship to succeed; without it, the relationship will eventually fail. Juan respected his wife in the very beginning, when they first got married. However, as he drank more and more, he respected her less and less. He made less time for her and stayed out later. Most nights he didn’t even come home at all. He would sit at the ice house with his friends and drink and laugh long into the hours of the night until he finally slipped into a fitful drunken slumber.
At first Cleofilas would wait up, but eventually she realized it wasn’t worth it. The second reason that I believe she was right in leaving is because Juan’s drinking made their home no longer a safe place for Cleofilas to raise her children. She realized that Juan’s drinking was causing him to become extremely violent and unpredictable. As he grew worse, the woman began to fear for her son. She knew it wasn’t safe for him to be around her husband anymore. She also feared for her unborn child; what kind of environment would she be bringing him into if she stayed with Juan?
Having a parent who constantly drinks is toxic for children, especially young ones. These children are much too young to understand what is going on, and much too weak to defend themselves against the furious outbursts of their inhibited parent. In addition, growing up in such a chaotic environment full of anger and strife puts unnecessary stress on children and forces them to grow up much faster than they should. Studies have shown that children who have an alcoholic parent are extremely likely to have psychological issues, and also to begin drinking themselves.
Cleofilas didn’t want any of these things for her children, therefore she knew she had to leave. She knew that if she didn’t, Juan might hurt the children in his anger, and she definitely wasn’t going to let that happen. The third reason I believe that Cleofilas made the right decision is because Juan abused her. His anger became so bad that it eventually caused him to strike his wife. Many women find themselves in this same position: their husband takes up drinking, becomes angrier and more violent and eventually begins to beat them constantly.
There are countless stories of women like Cleofilas being beaten by their alcohol-addicted husbands. This abuse is wrong; no man should ever beat his wife, even if he is drunk. According to ‘Woman Hollering Creek’ by Sandra Cisneros, Cleofilas was shocked the first time that her husband struck her. They hadn’t been married for very long when it happened. “The first time she had been so surprised she didn’t cry out or try to defend herself. She had always said she would strike back if a man, any man, were to strike her.
Poor Cleofilas didn’t know how to react; she just stood there in shock as he beat her. …“he slapped her once, and then again, and again, until the lip split and bled an orchid of blood, she didn’t fight back, she didn’t break into tears, she didn’t run away as she imagined she might when she saw such things in the telenovelas”. She didn’t understand why he would hit her. After all, in her father’s house such a thing would never have been permitted. “In her own home her parents had never raised a hand to each other or to their children”.
Cleofilas knew what her husband had done to her was wrong, but all she could do was sit in shock and stroke her husband’s hair as he cried into her lap and sobbed that he was sorry. Excessive drinking ruptures marriages. This is what happened to Cleofilas and her husband. Juan started drinking and it destroyed his relationship with his wife. This caused him to become violent and angry. He also became an endangerment to his children, and he began to disrespect and physically abuse his wife. All of this gave Cleofilas no choice but to take her son and leave her husband for the safety of herself and her child.
