Malinche by Lara Esquivel

The novel Malinche written by the Mexican novelist, screenwriter and politician Lara Esquivel talks about environmentalism and feminism as a whole. Esquivel was known advocate of those beliefs in their country since she's also a vocal feminist that was maybe her drive to write about Malinalli, commonly known as Malinche but before I write more about her, I want to take the opportunity to explain the theories enclosed in this novel.
First theory observed was the feminism which was truly evident even at the first word of the book :Malinche. This novel circulates upon the life of a Painalan girl who has been vituperated for her treachery of the people of India. Esquivel proved in this novel the other way around, the good reason behind this act of Malinche as she has this greater role than what people thought her to be. She came out to have more complex character—a mediator of two alien cultures Native American and Hispanic, also with two different languages Spanish and Nahuatl.
In this novel, Malinche's strengths are more highlighted and more of her intelligence are showcased which proves this novel to be a feminist.
Environmentalism is the next theory on the line. I haven't read any article regarding the theories that are observed in this novel but I think that this novel also showed it so because the environment to where Malinche lived was not so adaptive but by the circumstances that she have gone through, she learned then how to go in with her environment which made her develop her sense of leadership and her initiative to free her own people.

So going back to the novel's story, Malinche was formerly known in the names Doña Marina and Malinalli. She was sold by her own mother into slavery because her mother didn't want to jeopardize her new son's inheritance. Well, for the record, her mother remarried to the lord of another town after her father, which is a chieftain, died. At the trading center of slaves, she was then sold to the lord of Pontonchan  and stayed there when the Spanish arrived to where Hernan Cortes acquired her. As a child, she was an exceptional interpreter and a linguist working for Cortes. He was then able to talk with the Aztec emissaries through her and the one more interpreter Geronimo de Aguilar but as the time goes by, Malinche learned Spanish in few counting weeks anyway, throwing out Aguilar in the whole big picture.
By the young age, Malinche saved the Spanish people at Cholula by exposing the plot of ambush and killings, which was allegedly ordered by Emperor Montezuma through the local woman with a military husband she befriended who told her to hide when the Spanish people left and she could marry her son when the invaders were dead. In this scenario was Malinche's betrayal because she instead brought the woman to Cortes, who is the one who ordered the massacre wiping out most of the upperclassmen.
She had this sole intention really, at first, to help Cortes to destroy the Aztecs and free her people because she—like many—believes that he is the reincarnated forefather god of her tribe. They even fall passionately in love with each other but Malinche came to the reality and realization that Cortes is willing to destroy anyone, even their own men, even their own relationship.
And so, she did everything just to let her people free from slavery which made her a hero to her people's heart.