No Dust Is Allowed In This House Analysis

Throughout history, society has treated women as second-class citizens. They have consistently been discriminated against because of their gender; thus, resulting in a lack of rights and proper representation. However, over the last few decades, women have made great progress, in efforts to even the playing field and speak their minds. Through Green Cane and Juicy Flotsam: Short Stories by Caribbean Women, editors Carmen Esteves and Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert display a selective amount of tales written by Caribbean women, addressing a variety of contemporary issues. Due to European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus’ Voyage of 1493, the Caribbean is now home to many different dialects. The difference in linguistics is evident throughout the stories in Carmen Esteves’ Green Cane …show more content…
Along with Myriam Warner-Vieyra, Spanish-speaking author Olga Nolla, also speaks of class in her writing. Olga Nolla’s short-story, “No Dust Is Allowed in This House,” focuses on an upper-class family who was all about perfection. Doña Ines, the head of the household, was extremely strict when it came to cleanliness, and she enforced those same beliefs onto her workers. One day, after Doña Ines returned from Europe with her daughters, she discovered that her husband, Don Abelardo, had a wall built without her consent. The plot is used to emphasize that upper-class individuals, unlike lower-class individuals, often overreact over small and unimportant things. Olga Nolla also speaks on the topic of gender relations, as the narrator states that “if Doña Ines was the queen of the house, it was because [Don Abelardo] allowed her to be, because he had decided it would be so” (135). By including this into her story, Olga Nolla makes a direct reference to the idea that women are only in charge because men permitted; therefore, implying that women can’t rise to power on their