The Stolen Party by Liliana Hecker is a story about a young girl named Rosaura who attends the party of her friend Luciana. Rosaura is the daughter of Luciana's maid, but she thinks of herself as a close friend of Luciana's. Every day after school, they would do their homework together. So when Rosaura attends Luciana's party and has a great time, she is shocked at the end of it when Señora Ines, Luciana's mother, hands her cash and thanks for helping to serve the party; implying that she was employment instead of a guest like all the other children. Finding this out shattered Rosaura, because throughout the party she believed she had been popular and had been seen as so much more than just the help. For once in her life, she had actually felt superior and desirable which she almost never felt like as a maid's daughter. The Stolen Party is a story about wanting to be seen as more than a label and the power-struggle between different social classes.
To begin, The Stolen Party is about wanting to be seen as more than a label. In the story, Rosaura wants to break out of her label as "the maid's daughter" and prove that she is more than just a lower level employee to Luciana. For example, in the text, Rosaura prepares for Luciana's party and then looks at herself in the mirror and "thought she looked terribly pretty." Rosaura's nicely done hair and gorgeous white dress gives her self-confidence and makes her feel like she belongs at the party. The pretty dress is like a defense mechanism because it makes her feel like she has covered up her true self and is a new, rich, and well socially adapted Rosaura. The confidence she gets from looking in the mirror allows her to think of herself on the same social level as all the other richer kids at the party and ignore how she is continuously asked to help bring out food and drinks. Even though she is treated differently than the other kids, her confidence makes her think that she is treated this way out of privilege. She is so determined to break her label that it blinds her to what's really going on. Furthermore, Rosaura tries to break out of her label is when she talks to the girl with the bow at the party. The girl with the bow, Luciana's cousin, approaches Rosaura and asks her who she is, claiming that she can't be one of Luciana's friends because she knows all of them. Rosaura resists this implication, saying that she is Luciana's friend and that she's the daughter of "the employee". The girl with the bow continues to rudely interrogate Rosaura, who defends herself. This shows how even though Rosaura isn't necessarily proud of being the maid's daughter and doesn't want to be labeled that way, she still stands up for herself and is not afraid to speak up to bullies. She doesn't want to be labeled as the maid's daughter, but Rosaura doesn't want to be labeled as someone that shouldn't messed with. Overall, The Stolen Party is about wanting to fit in and not be labeled because of social status.
Secondly, The Stolen Party is about the power-struggle between different social classes. In the text, Rosaura helps out in the kitchen during the party. When she helps cut the cake, she feels like she has superiority over the other children. Deciding what size cake pieces the kids get while all the kids are yelling for cake makes Rosaura feel like a "queen" and like she has "the power of life or death over her subjects". Cutting the cake makes Rosaura feel special because she believes that she was singled out from all the other kids to do the most important task. However, little does Rosaura know that Señora Ines has seniority over her. At the end of the party when Rosaura is about to leave with her mother, Señora Ines hands Rosaura money instead of a gift. Señora Ines calls Rosaura "my pet" and thanks her for helping to serve the party. This shatters Rosaura's previous image of herself being superior and makes her feel lowly like she's not an equal with Señora Ines or Luciana. Rosaura returns Señora Ines' offer with a cold stare, attempting to resist the idea that she was below her and used a servant the entire party. This shows how Rosaura struggles with Señora Ines because they both come from two very different social classes. Señora Ines' high social status gives her power of Rosaura, who is lower social status because both she and her mother are considered servants. Throughout the party, Rosaura had a false sense of power and position that she didn't see through until the end of the story when Señora Ines acted in a way that clearly showed that Rosaura was powerless. To continue, in the text, it says that Señora Ines stood motionless holding out the money to Rosaura, "As if the slightest change might shatter an infinitely delicate balance". In this quote, the balance being referred to is the balance of social status and power between Rosaura and Señora Ines. After this line, the story ends. This was an intentional craft move the author did because ending the story there makes the reader feel as if one move from Señora Ines or Rosaura might completely shatter their relationship and create chaos in the moment. One action from either character could break the balance between the high class power and the low class resistance. Overall, the Stolen Party is about the power-struggle between different social classes and facing reality of where you stand in the scale of seniority.
In conclusion, The Stolen Party is a story about wanting to break out of labels and about the power and resistance between different social classes. In the story, Rosaura attempts to break out of her label as "the maid's daughter" and to be considered the same class as all the other kids at Luciana's party. The story is also about power and resistance between different social classes. Throughout the story, Rosaura struggles to fit in with high society. She dreams of becoming rich herself and about not having to worry what other people think of her because she'll have power of other people, just like Señora Ines has power of her and her mother. In real life, people can be treated differently because of social class. Servants can be treated with less respect than richer people. And as morally wrong as it is, people of higher social class can still receive better treatment. And in the real world, people struggle with power and resistance all the time. Many people can disagree and misunderstand who has seniority or power in social situations just like in the book. Overall, The Stolen Party is about the struggles of a lower class girl trying to resist judgements and be seen as part of a higher society.
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