Farrah Lam

Professor Lisa Orta

ENGL-123-5473

12 November 2019

A Ruler Dethroned

“The Madonnas of Echo Park” by Brando Skyhorse incorporates elements of fiction to

address the issues faced by Mexican-Americans. One story in particular, “Cool Kids” illustrates

a character by the name of Duchess, narrated in the perspective of her best friend Angie.

According to psychologist Carl Jung, humans have primary personality constructs based on their

motivations, which are referred to as twelve common archetypes (Golden). The Jungarian

archetype that best fits Duchess is “The Ruler.” One theme relevant to this story is that keeping a

friendship involves setting aside each other's differences. Skyhorse uses the element of fiction of

plot to illustrate this theme surrounding the friendship between Angie and Duchess.

The exposition of the plot begins with Angie meeting Duchess during childhood and

becoming best friends with her. Duchess is admired by both Angie and the students at her high

school: “If she came to school on Monday a platinum blonde, by Friday a dozen shimmering

blonde heads (a rare sight in Echo Park) charged through the halls like a marching band. To the

boys she was sexy, irresistible, and sweet natured; her maturity didn’t intimidate them but

encouraged them to defer to her out of a mix of respect and desire” (p.127). Angie looks up to

Duchess as a leader figure; she admires her independence, high sense of morality, and style. She

compares her appearance and personality to that of a musician she admires, Gwen Stefani. When

Duchess attends a salon and finds that the stylists are wearing revealing clothing, she protests
against this and takes matters into her own hands: “Duchess was so appalled by the

breast-popping blouses and skirts the girls wore there to attract men for haircuts, she ran home

and came back with a homemade picket sign. Luring the girls outside, she lectured them on how

they could dress and put on makeup without looking slutty” (p.127). One of the goals of the

Ruler is to create a successful community; strategized through an exercise of power (Golden). As

a Ruler, she is also naturally talented at leadership (Golden); this is proven when she manages to

win over the stylists: “For the rest of the afternoon, Duchess gave ​them ​makeovers” (p.127).

As Angie grows older, she begins to think for herself and follow her own opinions, much

to Duchess’ dismay. When Angie considers applying for work and a college education in an area

with a high white population, Duchess disagrees and becomes very upset: “‘You think you’re

better than everyone, huh?’ she said. ‘Because you’re lighter than me? Because you want to live

someplace nice and clean?...People stared at us. It didn’t feel right to act this way in a white

neighborhood. I was worried that we’d be thrown out of the mall, maybe even arrested” (p.138).

The Ruler’s motto of , “Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” (Golden) relates to Duchess’

value in power and self-respect. She does not like to associate with white society and put up with

racist treatment, she finds power within herself and wants to be perceived as such. The

authoritarian nature of Duchess causes strain in her relationship with Angie, as she carries firm

opinions. Being authoritarian is a weakness of the Ruler (Golden). When Angie disagrees with

Duchess, her power over Angie is threatened. The core desire of the Ruler is control (Golden),

and Duchess has lost her control over her. With Duchess being unable to accept the differences

between them, their friendship drifts apart. This is the conflict of the plot.
 The rising action occurs when the two speak again during their graduation; where Angie

is introduced to Duchess’ boyfriend, Juan. Juan reveals to Angie that Duchess’ real name is

actually Maria. Duchess was a nickname that belonged to her mother, who was a gang member.

Other words for the Ruler include “The Boss” or “The Queen” (Golden). Like the ruling of a

royal figure, her personality is reflected in her nickname. Angie and Juan take a mutual interest

in each other and begin dating. Angie does not speak with Duchess again until adulthood, where

the climax of the plot occurs.

By chance, the two have an emotional reunion at the bank from which Duchess works:

“Her eyes watered, but she was not going to give me that satisfaction of her tears, and I was glad

for that...We hugged as if we were made of eggshells, holding with the delicate fierceness of frail

abuelitas-pure intent to connect, but not enough strength in our muscles to show it” (p.145).

Afterwards, Duchess offers Angie to be her supervisor at the bank. Angie feels uncomfortable

about taking the position, knowing that Duchess prefers leadership: “I didn’t have the courage to

see Duchess every day, let alone be her boss” (p.147). In falling action, the two friends drift apart

again, until their friendship is halted by Duchess’ sudden death during a work incident in which

Duchess attempts to calm an angry customer but is accidentally killed.

In resolution, Angie marries Juan and decides to name her child Maria, in honor of

Duchess. Listening to the song, “Cool Kids” by Gwen Stefani, she imagines her daughter to be

an independent woman and follow her own path, just like Duchess: “Her name will be Maria,

and she will hate this song when she’s old enough. She will dance to the songs in her own head”

(p.149). Angie mentions a significant chorus in the “Cool Kids” song: “​Cool kids, will you come

out to play? Cool Kids, will you come out to play with me​” (p.149). The lyrics imply that the
singer wishes to join a group of “cool kids.” To Angie, Duchess was a “cool kid” whom she

looked up to. As Skyhorse projects through the plot line of two friends going through an on and

off relationship over their differences, the challenge of keeping a friendship is to set aside one

another’s differences.
 Works Cited

Skyhorse, Brando. ​The Madonnas of Echo Park​. New York, Free Press, 2010.

Golden, Carl. "The 12 Common Archetypes." ​SoulCraft Counseling & Coaching,​

www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html. Accessed 12 Nov. 2019.