How Does Jaela Leave Her House On Mango Street

In Esperanza’s neighborhood, compliant women are trapped by their husbands and over- come with feelings of low self worth and insecurity. In the vignette “No Speak English,” Esperanza describes the arrival of Mamacita, a mother who is forced by her husband to leave her homeland and move to Mango Street. Troubled by Mamacita’s solitude, Esperanza explains, “She sits all day by the window and play the Spanish radio” (Cisneros 77). Mamacita, forced to leave her home, feels overcome with feelings of seclusion and sorrow. In submitting to her husband’s will, Mamacita illustrates the powerlessness and vulnerability of women. Similarly, Rafaela, another woman imprisoned in her house on Mango Street, is discontent with her submission to her husband’s wishes.

Esperanza, in the vignette “Rafaela who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays,” describes Rafaela as someone who, “is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, get locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away” (Cisneros 79).

In describing Rafaela’s husband as someone who only likes Rafaela for her looks, Esperanza illustrates male superiority over women. Rafaela, submissive and alone, is forced to passively live a life of solitude by her aggressive husband. Likewise, Esperanza’s friend Minerva is forced to submit to her husband’s wishes. Esperanza, troubled by Minerva’s vulnerability, explains Minerva “is only a little bit older than me but aural she has two kids and a husband who left her” (Cisneros 84). Minerva, who is forced to mature from a young age, is faced with the realities of raising children while still being a child herself. In abandoning Minerva, Minerva’s husband illustrates the inferiority of women. Mamacita, Rafaela, and Minerva illuminate the harrowing effects of female submission and feel trapped in their feelings of low

self-esteem
Sally, Esperanza’s friend, is domesticated from a tender age and passively submits to her husband’s demands. In the beginning of the vignette “Linoleum Roses,” Esperanza reflects on her friend’s actions by saying, “Sally got married like we knew she would, young and not ready but married all the same” (Cisneros 101). Sally, submitting to marriage, emphasizes the lack of power she faces as a Latina woman. Furthermore, Sally’s domesticated lifestyle is illustrated in Esperanza’s description of her married life. Esperanza chronicles, “He won’t let her talk on the telephone. And he won’t let her look out the window” (Cisneros 102). In describing Sally’s husband’s superiority over Sally, the inferiority and isolation Sally faces is illuminated. Cisneros portrays the domestication Sally submits to in listing her husband’s rules. Similarly, Esperanza, in “Linoleum Roses,” describes Sally’s life of solitude by describing, “She sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission” (Cisneros 102). Esperanza describes the isolation and oppressive captivity Sally is confronted with in her married life. Cisneros illuminates the nonconformity and isolation of women in domesticated situations through Sally’s character.