How does Paz explain the Mexican woman's role in society? How does that strip her of her personality?

The Mexican woman's role in society is a passive one. She is perceived as the weaker gender because she opens herself physically to a man; and emotionally to the people around her. That act of opening-up makes her inferior and weak. The ideal woman exhibits decency, modesty, and patience in the face of adversity. Though admirable, those attributes should not comprise the person's whole character. Those features are essentially impersonal. When a woman displays them, she acts as The Ideal Woman rather than as herself. Requiring a woman to demonstrate those attributes without the possibility of her own natural reactions to adversity, strips her of her personality.