Sophie Treadwell was born on October 3, 1885 in Stockton, California. She is known mostly as a playwright, but wrote in various other genres also. Her written works not only include plays, but also books and novels, fiction and non-fiction. Her journalism career was quite successful. Her commentaries and articles were always captivating to the public eye. Sophie frequently followed sensational stories in the news, some of which gained much acclaim, one being her interview with Pancho Villa. 

     Gringo was written in 1922 and premiered on December 12, 1922. Gringo became a sensation on Broadway soon after it was written. This play has three acts that all take place in Mexico between the lives of Mexicans and Americans.  

     The first act of Gringo takes place at a mine that is owned by an American named Don Juan Chivers. The mine is located in Mexico where Mr. Chivers discovers what he assumes is a new ore deposit. Mr. Chivers has a daughter named Besita (meaning "The Little Kiss") who is half-Mexican by a Mexican mother. Besita's mother is not around.  

     There are several ironies found in the character of Mr. Chivers throughout this play. Mr. Chivers constantly talks down to the Mexican workers at the mine, on the other hand, he also show kindness to them by taking care of a wounded mine worker. He demonstrates a sort of superiority about himself and the fact that he is an American. At one point in the beginning of the first act, Mr. Chivers says to Leo, "You can be good to these people! (The Mexican mine workers.) You must be, because they are like children! But you can't let them imagine they're equal with you, because then they won't respect you! They can't!" (p. 9 of act 1) In essence he is saying that Mexicans are not equal to humans. The Mexicans are less than humans. However, not only does he have a daughter that is half Mexican, he also has a Mexican lover. This behavior is quite contradictory. 

     Leo and Myra are an American married couple that work at the mine. Paco is a native that has been befriended by the couple and learns English from Myra. Tito, a bandit who is Paco's brother, comes to the mine to take some money from Concha. Concha is actually Tito's wife, whom he deserted, but is also Mr. Chiver's lover. Tito wants to take Concha with him but Chivers will not hear of it. Tito makes a deal, if Chivers will give him 1,000 pesos, he will never come back to take Concha again.  

     In essence, Tito is willing to hand "possession" of Concha over to Mr. Chivers in the place of money. Chivers asks Leo to lend him the money knowing that when his ore deposit is verified, he can pay Leo back. Leo only agrees to lend him the money, if Chivers hands half ownership of the mine over to him. Chivers desperately agrees to the deal. Tito takes the money and leaves. Steve Trent comes (from the Minerales Company) to the mine and affirms it there is gold in the mine. 

     In this first act, Treadwell illustrates how women are seen in the Mexican culture. Tito does not cherish Concha as his wife rather he sees her as a possession that he can sell. The only reason that he is willing to take Concha to the mountains with him is for her to serve him. Tito says to Mr. Chivers, "Concha must go with me to cook and to pack and - I am sorry to deprive you - but you see my necessity." (p. 20 of act 1) He is not even faithful to his wife because he has abandoned her and flirts with Besita later in Act 1. He does not feel obligated to be her husband because he is never around. He does not seem bothered by the fact that Concha is sleeping with Mr. Chivers. 

     Treadwell also demonstrates that Mexican women see themselves as servants to men. Concha submits to Mr. Chivers and Tito's demands, constantly doing as they say. To please Mr. Chivers, Concha says to him near the end of Act 1, "I want only to serve you! You are my master!" (p. 18 of Act 1) Concha must not see herself as an equal to men because she allows them to demonstrate superiority over her. 

     Later in Act 1 Tito sneaks back to the mine and starts flirting with Besita who is sixteen years old. She ignores his advances and professes a crush on Steve. Tito then persuades all the native workers of the mine to join him in the mountains. He wants them to be his revolutionaries and promises to give them guns, horses, and a life of liberty in the mountains to replace monotonous mine work. All of the natives leave except for Paco (Tito’s brother) who stays loyal to Leo. Mr. Chivers and Leo are distraught over losing their workers. 

     It should be mentioned that Tito is unhappy that his brother Paco is friends with the Americans. From the beginning Tito is agitated that Paco has been influenced by the Americans. In a newspaper article that Sophie Treadwell wrote she states, "Mexicans in general dislike us (Americans) heartily." (Tribune p.1, January 1921) The article is about the fact that Mexicans have a chip on their shoulder towards the Americans ever since they lost Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. However she also says that in some ways Mexicans have a reason to be angry with the United States. In any case, this play seems to demonstrate that Americans and Mexicans alike have prejudices towards each other. 

     Act 2 also takes place at the mine two months later. Leo and Steve have devised to secretly smuggle gold out with the hope that the bandits will not steal it. Steve is leaving the next day to take bags of gold out with him on a mule. In the meantime, a different pack of mules is carrying out bags of sand. Besita is upset when she learns that Steve is leaving the next day and professes her love for him to her father. Because of Besita's anger about Steve's departure the next day, she tells Concha about the gold smuggling plan. 

     That night Tito and his men come back to the mine to rob the gold and there is a gunfight. After the gunfight Concha tells Tito about the gold smuggling idea that has been planned for the next day. Tito decides to kidnap Leo, Myra, and Besita. Concha is quite stunned that Tito is not taking her with him, but Besita instead. Therefore, out of spite, Concha gives Tito the bags filled with sand. During the entire gunfight Mr. Chivers is hiding. He comes out to realize that his daughter has been kidnapped along with Myra and Leo. 

     In this play Tito seems to be very much like Pancho Villa. He is a hoodlum, who like Pancho, has many followers. Tito is a sort of revolutionary. Perhaps Pancho Villa inspired Treadwell to create the character of Tito for the play. The actions of Tito are somewhat reminiscent of the events that took place during the Mexican Revolution.  

     The third act is the most climactic. It takes place a week later at Tito's camp in the mountains. Women at the camp do the cooking for the bandits. Tito is being affectionate towards Besita who has decided that she loves him instead of Steve. Tito decides that Leo must be ransomed by Mr. Chivers in exchange for gold. If Leo is not ransomed soon, Tito announces that Leo will be shot. Steve and Mr. Chivers arrive just in time to save Leo from being shot. Mr. Chivers gives Tito the gold. Then Besita states that she is going to stay with Tito and her father begs her to go home. She will not be swayed and ultimately goes with Tito. Myra also confesses her love for Steve. Leo begs Myra to stay with him, but she leaves with Steve. The play concludes with Mr. Chivers and Leo walking back to the mine together.  

     Besita is a character that is somewhat ironic. According to her father she is an "American". However, she has never stepped foot on American soil. She is very proud to be an "American". To some degree she even has the arrogance that her father does. She feels that she is superior as an "American". This is quite a contradiction because in fact, she is half-Mexican. Not only that, she was raised in Mexico; therefore, she knows its culture and language. The only facts she knows about the United States are from her father, Myra, and Leo. 

     At first Besita thinks she loves the American Steve, but that crush soon dwindles. Possibly she ends up loving Tito because he is Mexican. Perhaps she is finally embracing the culture she has always rejected by loving a man from that culture. It could be that she finally realizes that her Mexican culture is not as bad as her father thinks. It seems also that Besita is showing her father that she is proud of a Mexican man, something that Mr. Chivers constantly insults.  

     It is also interesting to note that in the camp there were women cooking and caring for Tito and his men. This is a practice that occurred during the Mexican Revolution with soldaderas. Soldaderas played a vital role in the everyday life of soldiers in the Mexican Revolution. They often followed men in battle to help feed them and clean their wounds. Often soldaderas carried soldier’s battle equipment for them. Soldaderas would also follow soldiers in battle because they did not want to be abandoned at home alone. Therefore they would accompany their husbands, brothers, fathers, etc. to battle. It is almost as if they felt that their jobs were just as important as the soldier’s job. Possibly in Gringo Treadwell is trying to demonstrate the importance of women in the lives of soldiers, much like the soldaderas in the Mexican Revolution. 

     Gringo is definitely a play about the hardships in the lives of people enduring difficult times. It is also a place where two cultures come together and learn about each other. Treadwell was a writer who had the capabilities of putting her life experiences into writing creative plays and literature that the public learned from and enjoyed.

Dick, Jerry. Sophie Treadwell, A Research and Production 
     Sourcebook.  Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood 
     Press, 1997.  

Gringo. By Sophie Treadwell. Dir. Guthrie McClintock. Comedy 
     Theatre, New York. 12 December 1922.  

Treadwell, Sophie. "Dislike for us is Long Standing; Source of  
     Aggravation is Our Discourtesy." Tribune 1921: 6-7.