The short stories by contemporary Puerto Rican women in Reclaiming Medusa bring a much-needed perspective to the Latin American literary scene. Creating spaces in which the socially prescribed "woman's place" is questioned, problematized, and often subverted, these narratives reclaim women's lost power in ways that are subtle, complex, and sometimes startling.

From within their colonial setting, the writers challenge racism, machismo and especially marianismo - that behavioral code which elevates women to a virgin's pedestal wherein they are immobilized and kept from making their own history.