The House On Mango Street Gender Roles

Throughout the eras, literature has witnessed women progressing into more miscellaneous personalities. Contemporary societal and cultural views in literature have varied with the times. At some point in time, the diversity of women’s roles began to increase and characters were given more personal thoughts. Literature began to expand its possibilities, and as a result, both women and men became stereotyped and categorized. In Sandra’s Cisneros’s book “The House on Mango Street”, the women characters display a myriad of roles. From the start, Esperanza Codero recognized the separate worlds of men and women. In her life, women were powerless, and the men were violent and abusive. Obviously, the men presented dominance while the women were vulnerable …show more content…
Her body started to change physically and she started to think more about boys. She found herself taking a better look at her appearance and wished to be beautiful and cruel like those femme fatal characters in the movies. However, she says that she “decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold…” (Cisneros 88). The article “In Search of Identity”, the Maria Elena states that Esperanza was a “young girl surrounded by examples of abused, defeated, worn-out women, but the woman she wants to be must be free” (Elena). There seems to be a common theme among some of the woman in Esperanza’s life. They seem to be stuck inside, looking out at a window of things they are missing out on life. It provokes a piteous feeling within the readers. Rafaela is an appropriate example of being quite literally trapped inside her own home. Even Esperanza’s great-grandmother spent her days looking out the window of all opportunities she had missed. Esperanza’s mother is most likely the strongest willed woman in this novel, yet she has very little influence in Esperanza’s adolescence. Alicia is also a rare example of trying to work hard for herself and not rely on men. Although women were more involved in Esperanza’s observances, the men in their lives influenced her as …show more content…
Being a woman, even a physically beautiful one results in “danger, confinement, and sexual assault” (Wissman 21). Additionally, Wissman also states that the novel images “husbands who are abusive or absent” (Wissman 24). Most of the women that Esperanza meets are helpless and the men in their lives can reflect on that. The cultural expectations for these women are to stay at home and do their duties. For instance, Rafaela’s husband does not allow her to step outside the house because she is too beautiful. Similarly, Sally’s much older husband isolates her from society and even abuses her. Alicia must wake up early in the morning and make tortillas and is obligated to do all the motherly duties since she is the oldest girl in the house. Ultimately, these girls share a similar recurring image. The men do as well since some of them tend to project violence, control, and maybe even vile habits. Of course, there are other men and women who are harmless in regards to Esperanza’s life. All these characters have different personalities as well as a way of life, but they all have one thing in common: each individual has impacted Esperanza’s mentality. Throughout this novel, Esperanza is constantly making observations of the people on Mango Street. Some have influenced her in various ways. This includes aspects of her mindset, behavior, and upbringing. Women like Rafaela and Minerva strengthen