How is gender and identity reflected in "Yellow Woman" by Leslie Marmon Silko?

The question of identity is central to the story "Yellow Woman." The narrator is torn two realities: one based on her domestic life with her family as wife and mother and a second in which she is Yellow Woman, a mythic figure who lives in the mountains as the captive (or companion—it is not clear) of a ka'tsina spirit.
This question of identity influences how we understand what happens to her. In her role as wife and mother, the narrator has been kidnapped by Silvio, a cattle rustler, who takes her to a remote mountain cabin and rapes her. But as Yellow Woman, her "kidnapping" becomes a kind of enchantment; Silvio, as ka'tsina, chooses or makes her into Yellow Woman, and her time with him exists outside of history.
In this reality, Silvio and the narrator become mythic figures, idealized types of male and female. They exist outside of history in a way; their actions are predetermined by the myth they embody. Their lovemaking is at once tender and sexual assault—a kind of inevitable narrative fulfillment. The doubleness is perfectly expressed in Silvio's remark to the narrator when she tries to resist his advances: "You don't understand, do you, little Yellow Woman? You will do what I want."

“Yellow Woman” is a beautifully narrated tale that reflects sexuality, adventure, identity, and the want to experience something larger than life. The story revolves around a young woman who is identified as a mother, wife, and daughter with responsibilities and duties to her family. And yet, she seeks to have an affair with a stranger. But, she does not do it because she feels attraction to the man himself but more because she feels attracted to the mystical legends and stories that he seems to fit right into. Silva refers to her as “Yellow Woman,” a famous Native American character, and he himself resembles the mythical figure of the Ka’tsina spirit. The woman chooses to believe in an identity—Yellow Woman—as her reality seamlessly merges with the fantasy of the stories she heard while growing up. This story celebrates Native American culture while holding up a mirror to the feelings and experiences of the modern tribe members. The protagonist longs to escape from the modern world and dive into the time when nature, animals, spirits, and souls were intertwined, a time when she could assume the identity of the Yellow Woman and Silva the identity of the Ka’tsina spirit.
Gender representation can also be seen as one of the minor themes prevailing in the story. The Yellow Woman, although a “modern” woman, assumes the roles of a conventional woman without question—frying potatoes, running away from the scene of combat, and going along with Silva’s request and demands without much of a fight. However, these incidents add a fairytale-like touch to the entire narrative, which could be seen as the whole point of the story. Yellow Woman’s desire to melt into the primitive times of legend and fantasy maybe results in her assuming the character and behaving like a woman of the past, with princess-like notions about sexuality and love.