Labov's Narrative & Culture-Blending in Jane the Virgin
This piece explores the use of Labov’s narrative elements and the blending of American-Latinx cultures through the use of code-switching in the Americanized version of popular Venezuelan telenovela Juana la virgen. This American satirical dramedy (drama-comedy), thus titled Jane the Virgin, aired on the CW network in 2014 and ran for five seasons with a total of 100 episodes. This American telenovela gained popularity for maintaining traditional telenovela conventions while subverting tropes usually reserved for less-than-feminist storytelling. My analysis will consider the consistent use of Labov’s narrative elements within each episode, as well as the blending of American and Latinx cultures on display through the use of code-switching between the English and Spanish languages.
A quick plot summary: Jane Villanueva is a 23-year-old woman raised Catholic by her mother and grandmother in Miami. Jane experiences an avalanche of wild happenstances, stemming from the day she was accidentally artificially inseminated. Jane is a heterosexual virgin when she becomes pregnant, but navigating her faith as la virgen reborn is only the beginning. Jane’s grandmother, Alba, and mother, Xiomara, help her give birth to a child fathered by a tall, dark, and handsome stranger named Rafael. Rafael is not Jane’s love interest at the time of conception, but her love triangle between boyfriend Michael and baby-daddy Rafael is not the love that drives this telenovela. Jane’s relationship with Alba and Xiomara is the heart of the show, and the women are bound together through their shared love of telenovelas.
This series consistently uses traditional telenovela elements, such as love, sex, death, danger, magical realism, an evil twin, and (spoilers!) a lover brought back from the dead. However, this American telenovela also consistently uses Labov’s narrative elements, which I will briefly list here. The Labov and Waletzky model includes: an abstract, which prepares the viewers with themes of the story ahead, the orientation, which provides information about the characters and the setting, and the complicating actions that drive the story’s drama. Labov’s structure also includes a resolution to the drama and evaluative elements that make the story worth telling, as well as the coda, or a final message that may generalize the story’s themes.
Jane the Virgin consistently uses each of these elements within each episode. While some of these elements may blend in function throughout the episodes, these narrative stages are presented clearly through the use of the Narrator. I capitalize Narrator because this male voice is paramount in telling Jane’s story and orienting Jane’s drama throughout, and his strong personality demands proper credit. The Narrator is self-aware of Jane’s story being a telenovela and often orients the viewers directly, including the traditional Once upon a time... Each episode of Jane the Virgin opens with an abstract, a flashback, explores a complicating action, and closes with a line of narration that resolves one issue and sets a cliffhanger for the next.
For example, let’s look at the pilot episode titled Chapter One from October, 2014. Jane the Virgin opens with a prologue, and The Narrator opens the series with this line: “Our story begins 13 and a half years ago, when Jane Gloriana Villanueva was a mere ten years old” (Springfield Scripts, S1E1). This is the abstract that introduces the viewer to the story. The narrator continues into the orientation by describing Jane’s character as such, “It should be noted that at a mere ten years old, Jane's passions include, in no particular order, her family, God, and grilled cheese sandwiches,” then introduces the matriarch of the Villanueva household, “This is Jane's grandmother, Alba Gloriana Villanueva. Her passions include God and Jane, in that particular order,” and Jane’s mother, Xiomara. The viewers are oriented to the Villanueva household and the dynamic between granddaughter, mother, and grandmother. Namely, that Alba believes virginity is a white flower, and once it is crumpled, it can never be the same. This is the first interaction the viewers are oriented to, which sets up themes for the show’s main crisis. Within the first episode, Jane becomes artificially inseminated, which is the first of many complicating actions, and the main crisis young Jane navigates. At the close of the pilot, Jane tells Michael that she’s pregnant with another man’s baby but resolves his fears by telling him, “I’m confused about every single thing in my life, except you. I love you.”
The Narrator resolves with, “And in that moment, in the arms of the man she thought she knew so well, Jane Gloriana Villanueva really believed that to be true,” then adds a cliffhanger which doubles as an abstract for the next episode: “And then everything changed.”
Each episode of Jane the Virgin is named a Chapter through the use of title cards. This title card not only works as an abstract but also an orientation/evaluation, as descriptions evaluate Jane’s character as she transforms beyond “the virgin.” Each title card includes the word “chapter” followed by a hyphenated number, all the way through Chapter One-Hundred. Evaluative descriptors follow the words, “Jane the virgin,” and as the story progresses, the Narrator crosses out “the virgin” and replaces it with something else, such as, “the published freaking author!!!” (S4E6) or “the widow,” replaced with “the forgotten” (S5E1). The main title card functions as multiple elements: the abstract, orientation of the episode’s themes, a nod to Jane’s dynamic character, and an evaluation that holds the viewer’s attention.
Other evaluative elements include auditory quips by the Narrator, breaking of the fourth-wall, and the use of movie magic. Visual additives include animations, flashbacks, dreamscapes, on-screen text soundtracked by typing fingers, text-message bubbles as they’re being sent, and moments where the Narrator pauses the show and verbally and textually clarifies the plot. Evaluation gives the text significance, and the Narrator uses evaluative measures to express his opinions, usually voicing Jane’s internal feelings, such as anger or disbelief. My favorite evaluative element in Jane the Virgin is the transition between scenes through the use of parallel/exact dialogue at the open and close of each scene. This unites the series’ many subplots into one cohesive narrative. Throughout the series, these techniques increase in production value, and the Narrator becomes more self-aware of the show’s growing fanbase. The Narrator is aware that Jane’s story is a telenovela and not only reminds the viewer of telenovela elements, but maintains a fairytale-esque magic that is special to Jane the Virgin.
Jane is a romantic at heart and desires to become a published romance writer, so it’s natural that her story is equally romantic and magical. Jane often fantasizes other versions of herself that assist her writing process, and her written words drift across the screen as she types in a burst of inspiration. When Jane shares her first kiss with Michael, snow falls, and when she shares her first kiss with Rafael, cherry blossoms fall. Magical elements like this toe the line between what Jane is experiencing in reality and what she imagines. The evaluation in this series is more than cute animations, and much of the show’s “worthiness” comes from the drama itself. Jane the Virgin tackles heavy drama, like danger and the deaths of loved ones.
Complicating actions throughout Jane the Virgin are seemingly endless. Labov’s model expresses that complicating actions are problems that culminate in a crisis (Labov, Waletzky), and Jane certainly experiences many crises, including: her artificial insemination, the death of her husband Michael, and the ever-present threat of the main villain, Sin Rostro. The events in Jane’s story disrupt her planned sequence of events, and if something can go wrong for Jane, it does. Our heroine is not expecting to become accidentally artificially inseminated with another man’s sperm, nor does she expect to fall for Rafael. These complicating events disrupt the life she plans with Michael, and these dramatic moments culminate in season finales. Jane is a plan-oriented character, so to become pregnant before marriage, thus before sex, is the ultimate complication. Of course, Jane the Virgin is a telenovela, and telenovelas are traditionally full of twists and turns. This American version is no exception. Over the course of five seasons, Jane experiences tribulations in her career, romance, motherhood, and more. Stay with me.
Jane’s son, Mateo, is kidnapped shortly after birth by the villainous Sin Rostro, and characters speculate that Sin Rostro may have swapped the babies, which causes Jane intense anxiety. Jane’s two main love interests, Michael and Rafael, encounter complications that put their lives and romantic relationships with Jane in crisis. Rafael is introduced having recently recovered from testicular cancer, which leaves him unable to procreate through sex. His sperm sample is meant for his wife, Petra, when Jane is inseminated, causing a deviation from his plans as well. And Michael, God bless him, is an honest cop who loses his right to police work while chasing Sin Rostro. Michael suffers a heart attack before he can complete the process of becoming a lawyer and dies, leaving Jane a widow. This culminates Jane’s grief, which is a large part of her character in season five. While Michael is alive, Rafael and Jane complicate his plans to marry Jane when she chooses Rafael, but when he returns from the dead as a man with no memories named Jason, Jane deviates from her relationship with Rafael, causing more pain.
Throughout the show, Jane experiences smaller problems that seem irrelevant in the face of true grief. Jane experiences true grief and pain when a) Sin Rostro kidnaps Mateo, b) Michael dies, and c) her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Xiomara’s breast cancer culminates into a family crisis when it becomes reality, causing problems for Xiomara and Jane’s father, Rogelio, such as the loss of her sex drive. Xiomara loses the fire that makes her Xiomara, but the Villanueva family resolves her daily pains by supporting her with unconditional love.
Xiomara’s breast cancer, along with Michael’s death, causes pain for the show’s three main women: Alba, Xiomara, and Jane. These women face grief together, leaning on familial love for support. This brings me to the function of the swing on the front porch, which acts as a physical representation of Villanueva love, as well as a space for resolution. When in crisis, all three Villanueva women sit here and attempt to resolve the issue, usually resulting in a healthy expression of grief through tears. The women discuss many serious issues here, offering inter-generational advice to each other. Many of Jane’s problems, such as Michael’s death, cannot be resolved, but the porch swing allows Jane a space to find a resolve of her own. Jane cries out of grief and frustration when her dreams are crushed, and on occasion, all three women cry over different pains. This porch swing is a fixture throughout the series, and complicating actions are either contemplated or resolved here. The porch seems to have magical powers of its own as it brings the women together to communicate, talking through tensions between them, such as Xiomara and Alba’s differing views on sex and Catholicism, Jane’s grief, and Xiomara’s fear of the unknown. The women use the porch at the close of an episode, and through the use of Alba’s wisdom, the show sends the message that sometimes, problems have no solutions, but familial love is the cure for grief. In this way, Alba functions as the coda.
As the matriarch, Jane’s abuela Alba often sends messages about society, representing the show’s coda. Alba will offer wisdom about love and grief, generalizing these specific problems in the grander scheme. Alba may have traditional values, but sometimes, these simplistic values are necessary to consider Jane’s problems (ie: Alba is team Rafael, team baby-daddy). Alba is head of the Villanueva household and the most devout Catholic on the show. Alba represents tradition, religion, and undocumented immigration. Be it inside the house or on the porch swing, Alba’s existence sends messages that relate to the show’s themes, often shedding light on these themes on a grander scale. Alba is a strong, important character, and her function as the wise grandmother goes beyond her place in la familia de Villanueva. Not only does her sexual relationship with her lover, Jorge, represent a love that most media won’t dare to explore - the physical love of two grandparent-aged people - but her existence as a primarily Spanish-speaking woman in America represents the show’s blend of American and Latinx cultures.
Alba is an undocumented immigrant, and it is her journey to America that launches the show’s duality between American and Latinx culture. She hails from Venezuela, where she meets Jane’s grandfather, Mateo, and moves with him to the U.S. to avoid scandal with her family over pre-marital sex. Much of Alba’s character revolves around her faith, and it is her devout Catholicism that scares Jane from giving up her “flower” before marriage. However, as Jane grows into an independent woman, Alba changes with her, and the Villanueva household becomes more than a place for religion-based fear. Alba’s household represents the blend of American-Latinx cultures through interior design, la comida Alba serves her family, and the traditional Spanish game, Lotería. Alba speaks primarily in Spanish to her family, although she understands and can speak English perfectly. The show adds English subtitles when she speaks, and it is the heavy use of Alba’s Spanish, as well as the switch between English and Spanish within the same discourse, that represents the ultimate blending of cultures in Jane the Virgin.
Let’s return to the pilot episode. The show opens with an interaction between 10-year-old Jane and her grandmother, who is showing her a white flower. The dialogue transpires as such:
Alba, in Spanish: Notice how perfect it is. How pure. Now, mija, crumple it up!
Xiomara, in English: Really, mom?
Alba: Shh!
Xiomara: But this is so lame!
Alba orders Jane to crumple the flower, then asks her if she can put it back together. Jane responds in English, “I can’t,” and Alba responds to her in Spanish. Alba always speaks in Spanish, but Jane, Xiomara, and the rest of the family respond to her in English.
This is an example of code-switching between characters, but Alba, Jane, and Xiomara also switch between Spanish and English within the same sentence. Just as Jane the Virgin flips between the magical realism of telenovelas and the realistic plots of American television, the characters consistently flip between English and Spanish. Common uses of Alba and Jane’s code-switching include terms of affection, such as mija and abuelita. Jane speaks to Alba in English but never calls her “grandmother”, instead, always uses abuela or abuelita.
Alba’s use of Spanish as her primary language makes Jane the Virgin a bilingual series, but her personal use of code-switching is prominently on display in Chapter Eighty-Nine, S5E8. Alba and her lover, Jorge, must pass an immigration inspection in order for Jorge to get his green card. Alba studies for and passes her own citizenship exam, but Jorge is undocumented, and marries Alba to help secure his green card. Alba has true feelings for Jorge, but their marriage must convince the immigration inspector. During the inspection, Alba is forced to speak English to the inspector, but when she declares her true love for Jorge, she speaks to him in Spanish.
Alba isn’t the only character who switches between English and Spanish in the midst of one discourse, however. In Chapter Forty-Four, S2E22, Jane and Michael have the wedding of Jane’s dreams, and when standing at the altar prepared to read their vows, Michael gets an approving nod from Alba and begins to speak his vows… in Spanish. This moment touches the hearts of everyone witnessing this union, especially Jane, because her English-speaking husband speaks his vows in Spanish as a surprise for her. Michael swaps between English and Spanish within their vows, which is a representation of his love for Jane and his honoring of her culture.
The use of Spanish and English code-switching between Alba, Jane, Xiomara, Rafael, and Michael secures Jane the Virgin as a bilingual masterpiece. This blending of American and Latinx cultures is present throughout the entirety of the show, emphasized in moments of gravitas, such as Michael’s wedding vows and Alba’s immigration inspection. Other examples include Jane and Rafael teaching Mateo English and Spanish as he ages in a bilingual household, Rafael calling Alba abuela, and the presence of Spanish words on the cards in the Lotería game. Jane the Virgin does not shy from bilingual interactions, including the characters switching between languages within one discourse in large chunks, ie: the wedding, or through the use of casual conversation. The Villanueva household is actively bilingual, and the use of Spanish-English code-switching onscreen solidifies this culture-blending.
Now, Jane the Virgin is a bilingual show, but it’s also multilingual, considering that Petra, Rafael’s ex-wife, speaks Czech with the ghosts of her past. One such ghost is Ivan, who comes to collect her money in Chapter Four, S1E4. Petra speaks English with her professional associates, but when Ivan demands money from her, she speaks to him in Czech. When arguing with her insane twin sister, Anežka, Petra slips into her Czech to emphasize her anger.
Considering the use of Czech, English, and Spanish, Jane the Virgin is an ambitious series. Jane the Virgin is multilingual and multicultural, recruiting actors of various Latinx backgrounds to represent the true American-Latinx experience, such as Gina Rodriguez (Jane) and Ivonne Coll (Alba). This Americanized telenovela is ambitious in its use of traditional telenovela narratives mixed with elements of American narratives. Jane the Virgin tackles issues such as immigration with relevance to our current political climate, religion-based fear and misconceptions about virginity, trauma, grief, and unexpected pregnancy. Jane responds in real-time to the needs of its fans and maintains a high production value in the use of text effects and visual additives, which act as evaluation for the show’s complex narrative.
While there are many plots to follow throughout Jane the Virgin, the use of the Narrator maintains clarity and offers a clear use of Labov’s narrative elements. As stated previously, each episode opens with an introduction by the Narrator, which orients the viewer to the current happenings of Jane and her family, and closes with a cliffhanger resolve that provides an abstract for the next complicating action. While Labov’s elements may exist in blended forms throughout Jane the Virgin, such as the use of the abstract-orienting title card and the Villanueva family porch swing as a space for resolution and coda, it only makes sense that these elements are blended in such a fantastic, spiritual, colorful, romantic, magical, blended-genre and blended-culture series.
Works Cited
Labov, Waletsky. “The Labov and Waletzky Model: Abstract, Orientation, (Complication, Resolution, Evaluation) (Coda)”, 1967, accessed 17 December, 2019, Web source: Canvas
Springfield! Springfield! TV Scripts, “Jane the Virgin (2014) s01e01, Chapter One,
Episode Script: SS,” accessed 17 December, 2019, Web https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=jane-the-virgin-2014&episode=s01e01
Bibliography
Gallagher, Caitlin. Bustle.com, “'Jane The Virgin' Tackles Immigration As Alba Worries About Her Green Card Under Trump,” 1 May, 2017, accessed 18 Decemeber, 2019, Web, https://www.bustle.com/p/jane-the-virgin-tackles-immigration -as-alba-worries-about-her-green-card-under-trump-54975
Hill, Libby. Vulture.com, “Jane the Virgin Recap: Oh, Baby,” 12 May, 2015, accessed 17 December, 2019, Web, https://www.vulture.com/2015/05/jane-the-virgin-recap-season-1-episode-22.html
Jane the Virgin Fandom Wiki,
“Jane Villanueva/Alba Villanueva/Chapter One/Chapter Four/Chapter Forty-Four/Chapter Eighty-One/Chapter-Eighty Two/Chapter Eighty-Nine”
accessed 17 December, 2019, Web https://janethevirgin.fandom.com/wiki/Jane_Villanueva
TV Tropes, “Series: Jane the Virgin,” accessed 17 December, 2019, Web
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/JaneTheVirgin
Wikipedia, “Lotería,” various authors, 12 December, 2019, accessed 18 December, 2019, Web, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loter%C3%ADa