Women's Role In The House On Mango Street By Esperanza

Countless people are not able to say that they have grown up like Esperanza. Living in poverty, and knowing your neighbors, living a life where women are told to stay home, clean, cook, wash every spot of food off of every single dish. Women did not have a say in anything, furthermore, Esperanza has a variety of female role models in her life. Several are trapped in abusive relationships, waiting for others to change their lives. Some are actively trying to change everything on their own. Through these women and Esperanza’s reaction to them, Cisneros’ shows not only the hardships women face, but also explores their powers to overcome them. The Chinese did not want their women strong, along with the Mexicans. It was supposedly dreadful luck
Marin also wishes to travel back to Puerto Rico to stay with her boyfriend, along with her aunt, that has been taking care of her, wants to send her back to live with her mother anyway considering she is too much trouble. Marin goes out late when she can, looking for boys to flirt with her. Marin is not allowed to play outside until her aunt gets home, moreover, she can only stay in the front yard. Marin does not have a proper job, so she can only gain the money to travel back to Puerto Rico in one way. Marin does this-described in the chapter Marin-by, “...saving the money she gets from selling Avon and taking care of her cousins” (26). Also in this chapter, “Marin says that if she stays here [Mango Street] next year, she’s going to get a real job downtown because that’s where the best jobs are…” (26). It may be hard to find a job for Marin because she is a woman. Things may be hard for Marin, although, they may not be as hard as the Vargas family
Esperanza’s mother can do many things, described in the chapter A Smart Cookie, such as, “...speak two languages. She can sing an opera, She knows how to fix a T.V.” (90). All of these things Esperanza noticed, and learned from, she learned that her mother is a very talented person, who just wished she had used her talent in the correct way. Also in this chapter Esperanza’s mother says to her, “Esperanza, you go to school. Study hard” (91). She says this because she does not want Esperanza to turn out like she did. She wishes for Esperanza to be something big, and