Townsend most certainly considers Malintzin to be exceptional. Malintzin's Choices describes Malintzin as someone who persevered through very rough circumstances to become a revered figure to the Spanish. Townsend tells the story of how she was taken as a slave by the Spaniards, who needed her knowledge of indigenous languages so she could serve as an interpreter between the Spanish and the many tribes they would encounter. As time went on though, Malintzin would become much more than a simple translator. Soon she would establish a strong relationship with Cortes, which gave her considerable influence within the Spanish community in the New World. Though she would never be held to hold the same status as Spanish women of noble birth, her actions in aiding the Spanish conquest of powerful empires, such as the Aztec, earned her a strong reputation among the conquistadors Townsend defends this by referencing various Spaniards' accounts and personal statements in which they spoke of Malintzin with high regard. Just the fact that the Spanish came to call her dona Marina shows that she earned the respect of her Spanish captors. Townsend further defends her image of Malintzin by describing how her children were able to attain high status in the Spanish world. One of the main reasons they were able to do so was the reputation of their mother.
While I do not think Malintzin is a figure who should necessarily be revered, I do agree with Townsend that she was an exceptional figure. Malintzin showed she had excellent determination to be able to maneuver her way into a prominent and powerful position among the conquistadors. She was undoubtedly very intelligent and very strong to be able to make it through all the struggles she faced. Another fact which confirms she was an exceptional figure is that no other indigenous interpreter has a place in history like Malintzin does. In fact most other interpreters are unknown. Though she served an invading enemy in their attempts to take over her homeland, something which I believe deserves to be frowned upon, Malintzin was no doubt an exceptional figure.
I agree with your assessment in that I believe that Townsend meant to portray Malintzin as an exceptional figure although it was determined in the beginning of the book that parts of her life were being portrayed based on native women. Based on the lack of information, many people believed that Dona Marina was the only interpreter for the Spanish although history clearly shows evidence to the contrary. But as you mention, the fact that a new name was assigned to her signified her importance to the Spanish as it was a custom within the noble tradition. As Townsend discusses early in the book, when a new name is assigned to a person, it is as if they had lived their lives under the new identity. Therefore, Malintzin was exceptional based on the choices she made within the context of the situation that she was put in. She was able to flourish based on key decisions that she made throughout her life. These were: the decision to speak up as an interpreter, the decision to marry for her convenience, and her voluntary acquisition of new languages along the way. For that, she was both exceptional and crucial to the Spanish, which is the reason that she became important within the history of the conquest.
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