Xochitl Gonzalez’s “Olga Dies Dreaming” is a novel about Olga Acevedo, a Brooklyn wedding planner, navigating her work life while coping with her ill mother and her complicated family life. As an immigrant of Puerto Rican descent, Olga is forced to confront her identity, family, and love. The novel explores themes of cultural heritage, family obligation, and the conflict between pursuing one's own dreams and fulfilling family obligations. It's a poignant portrayal of modern life, love, and the pursuit of happiness in the face of family demands. The mesh between three different Olgas serves as a vital narrative device, using intertextuality to explore themes of identity, culture, and resistance. The three Olgas — Olga Acevedo, the novel’s protagonist; Olga Garriga, the political activist born in Brooklyn; and Olga from Pedro Pietri’s famous poem “Puerto Rican Obituary” are deeply intertwined, shaping and being shaped by each other. Through their relationships and symbolic connections, Gonzalez creates a narrative that examines the complexity of Puerto Rican identity and the intersection of personal and political struggles. In doing so, this intersection of Olgas illustrates the influence of one another, how their intertextuality adds layers of meaning, and which Olga is the most compelling figure.
Intertextuality is the way that texts, or in this case, characters, connect with and reference each other. Gonzalez layers these three Olgas to create a dense web of meaning, inviting readers to see connections between different forms of resistance and identity. Olga Acevedo, the central character, is a successful wedding planner living in New York City, struggling with balancing her career ambitions, her family’s expectations, and the weight of her Puerto Rican heritage. Olga Garriga, a Brooklyn native, is a political activist for Puerto Rican independence, whom she had been named after. Olga says, “Did I ever tell you that I was named after Olga Garriga…Yeah, my dad picked it. Wanted to make me ‘ambitious’” (Gonzalez 276). However, the weight of bearing the name of someone whose life resembles her that of her mother isn’t one she assimilates with. As Acevedo’s mother abandoning her family for her political cause, the connection she holds for Olga Garriga is strained. She embodies the tension between personal sacrifice and political struggle, which haunts Olga Acevedo throughout the novel.
Meanwhile, the third Olga is drawn from Pedro Pietri’s “Puerto Rican Obituary,” a seminal poem that reflects the harsh realities of life for Puerto Ricans in the U.S. Olga also says, “But my mother was worried that I would take after the Olga from Puerto Rican Obituary” (Gonzalez 276). This Olga, from Pietri’s poem, is a symbol of unrealized dreams and the failure of the American Dream for many Puerto Rican migrants. By referencing this Olga, Gonzalez connects the struggles of Olga Acevedo, to a lifetime of collective hardship faced by Puerto Ricans in the U.S. However, Acevedo’s personal and professional success is stark in contrast to the experience of Pietri’s Olga, yet both characters are shaped by a system that marginalizes their community.
The three Olgas are complexly connected, shaping and being shaped by each other, both literally in the novel and symbolically through intertextuality. Olga Acevedo’s story is framed by her personal and professional success in the sense of self-growth and investment. Olga Garriga, whose politicism and activism leave a lasting impact on the world -- Puerto Rican history to be precise -- casts a net around Acevedo’s whole heritage. This link leaves Olga Acevedo with one conflict: how to honor her heritage while forging a life on her own terms. Yet, she is also shaped by her connection to Olga in “Puerto Rican Obituary.” Although Pietri’s Olga represents the tragic failure of the American Dream for Puerto Ricans, Olga Acevedo, in contrast, achieves material success. This success, however, comes with a cost; she becomes disconnected from her cultural roots and haunted by the sacrifices of previous generations, embodied in the figure whose name she bears, and the broader history of the Puerto Rican struggle symbolized in Pietri’s poem. Their intertextuality emphasizes the notion that although you may achieve personal fulfillment in life, it cannot be separated from the larger picture of collective struggle.
On the other hand, Olga Acevedo’s choices and desires continuously challenge the legacies of both Olga Garriga and Pietri’s Olga. While her Garriga is entirely consumed by the fight for Puerto Rican independence, Olga Acevedo seeks to find a balance between her personal life and her cultural obligations. Her story is one of resistance, not necessarily to the political struggle for Puerto Rican independence but that personal identity must be entirely encompassed by it. In this way, Olga Acevedo shapes the legacies of the other two Olgas by creating a new path that blends personal agency with cultural consciousness.
Among the three Olgas, Gonzalez’s Olga stands out as the most compelling figure. Her internal conflict is the heart of the novel, and through her struggles, the book comes to life. While Olga Garriga and Pietri’s Olga are symbols of resistance and sacrifice, Olga Acevedo embodies the modern-day tensions of navigating identity within a diasporic community. She is not just the passive recipient of Garriga’s radical ideals or the failures embodied in “Puerto Rican Obituary;” she is an active participant in shaping her own life to unshackle herself from the beliefs of society. Her emotional and psychological complexity sets her apart. She is a successful woman, but her achievements come with deep feelings of alienation. Her struggle to reconcile her personal ambitions with her family’s legacy, especially her mother’s political ideals, makes her relatable to anyone who has felt pulled between different identities or expectations. Moreover, her efforts to honor her cultural heritage without losing herself in it make her a powerful symbol of the ongoing challenges faced by many in the Puerto Rican migrant category.
In “Olga Dies Dreaming,” the intertextuality among Olga Acevedo, Olga Garriga, and the Olga from “Puerto Rican Obituary” tightly weaves together themes of identity, resistance, and cultural legacy. Each Olga embodies different aspects of the Puerto Rican experience: personal ambition, political struggle, and the collective hardships of the group. Olga Acevedo, as the most compelling character, navigates these forces in her quest to reconcile her personal desires with her family's as well as her community's expectations. Through the intertextual connections between these characters, Gonzalez gives a profound reflection on how history and culture shape our identities and decisions. Furthermore, the novel teaches us that identity is neither static nor singular but a complex interplay of personal, familial, and historical forces, a collection of intertextualities to form the version of us we create. It calls us to recognize how personal narratives are always entwined with larger cultural and political struggles, especially for marginalized communities seeking both self-fulfillment and justice.
