Frida Kahlo Analysis

Laughter fills the streets surrounding the Blue House and the sun is high in the sky with the heat of July thick in the air. Today marks the birthday of Frida Kahlo and Coyaocán, Mexico is a buzz. The Blue House is full of people walking through the rooms and hallways of the house, desperate for a connection to the native Mexican, artist, and feminist. You stop at a portrait of Kahlo. Your eyes immediately seeing her dark mono-brow and faint mustache, and are drawn to her unwavering, daring gaze. Then, you remember her life and the passion she lived it with, and recall that Kahlo was celebrated by Mexico as a symbol of tradition and by feminists for her representation of the female body and its capabilities through her art work. Welcome to the life of Frida Kahlo.

As a young girl Kahlo did not often conform to the patriarchal rules of Mexican society placed on women in the 1920s. She attended an “improper” coeducational school as one of thirty-five girls and “enjoyed flouting the rules, whether by a small transgression like wearing bobby socks, prohibited by the school dress code, or by a deviation as extreme as a sexual adventure with an older woman” (Zamora 25). Kahlo stated “I don’t care. I like myself the way I am” (Zamora 25) with passion and disregarded limitations, completely unashamed.

After missing the train to Coyaocán, Kahlo and a close friend by the name of Alejandro Gómez Arias boarded a brightly colored bus. The driver attempted to pass in front of an oncoming streetcar and didn’t succeed resulting in a collision. Kahlo was found with multiple bone fractures and nearly impaled through the uterus with a metal rail. “[That’s when] I lost my virginity” (Zamora 26) Kahlo often claimed. The injuries caused by the b...

... middle of paper ...

...s of the Blue House suggest that Kahlo still resides inside. However “she is gone, she [Kahlo] lives through her paintings, her story, and the silence of the Casa Azul [the Blue House]” (Zamora 134). Every painting and every object is a reflection of who Kahlo was and what she represented. Kahlo’s work is seen widely as unconventional and showed the world the tremendous amount of pain she endured while simultaneously showing the amount of strength she possessed. Through her work Kahlo defied conformity through deviations socially, politically, and artistically. Kahlo refused to abide by gender roles in a patriarchal society, and shed light on the unmentionable aspects of life as a woman. By integrating her Mexican heritage with her feminist actions, Kahlo is regarded as a symbol of both native Mexican tradition and supporter of feminine rights and equality.