Kruti: Powerful Women in Literature

Even in today’s world, there are many societies where women are still oppressed and don’t get a fair chance to live their life. Throughout the book, “The House on Mango Street”, by Sandra Cisneros, the main character, Esperanza, meets many women who indirectly guide her, and tell her to live her life, to never stop running away from the cage they themselves are trapped in. The women who Esperanza encounters have been married at a young age, often against their will. By sharing these kinds of stories, the novel implies that many of these women could have been very successful if they had been able to get a better education. Esperanza views education and writing as a way to a better life. Through characters like Esperanza’s mother, Cisneros suggests that education offers a kind of freedom. 

Many of the women who faced  oppression were members of Esperanza’s family. In the vignette, “My Name,” Esperanza expresses to the reader how she does not want to become like her great-grandmother, a woman who was once strong and free, “a wild horse of a woman,” shackled down by an unwanted marriage. “She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be.” (11) Like the quote expresses, many of the oppressed women could have had a brighter and happier future. Esperanza often recalls her grandmother, and tells the reader she doesn’t want to become like her. A reason why Esperanza dislikes her name could also be because she associates what happened to her grandmother, also named Esperanza, with the name. Another talented woman who was oppressed was Esperanza’s own mother. In the vignette, “A Smart Cookie” Esperanza describes some of her mother’s talents, “sings with velvety lungs as powerful as morning glories”. “She can speak two languages..” Yet her mother can only dream of ever performing in the opera, or pursuing her own career. “Shame is a bad thing you know…. But I had brains” (91). Esperanza’s mother says one day. Like many other women in the book, Esperanza’s mother regrets not getting a better education, feeling guilty about the choices she made, encouraging Esperanza to not give up on a proper education, even if it seems tough. 

An additional woman who sets a vivid example for Esperanza is Rosa Vargas. Though Rosa Vargas isn’t related to Esperanza, like many, she was left by her husband to raise her children on her own. “They are bad those Vargases, and how can they help it with only one mother who is tired all the time from buttoning and bottling and babying, and who cries every day for the man who left without even leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come” (29). Rosa Vargas was left to fend for herself. Her husband did not leave anything valuable behind, nor did he provide a good reason. He simply left Rosa, who was unable to get a good education due to marrying at a young age. This, along with the number of children she has, prevent her from obtaining a decent job with a safe environment. Though many of the women Esperanza meets were oppressed, Esperanza’s mother and grandmother provide important examples for her of what might happen if she doesn’t fight for her rights, especially since they are much closer to Esperanza’s heart than many of the other women. Rosa Vargas may not have been related to Esperanza, but she definitely provided Esperanza a vivid model. 

Many of the women who are now living a life they regret didn’t get a proper education, but they also often didn’t take up all the opportunities life gave them. Ruthie, for example, is someone Esperanza looks up to greatly. Esperanza describes how Ruthie is the only adult who plays with them and often recalls conversations she has with Ruthie. Esperanza also mentions how, “She had a lot of job offers when she was young, but she never took them. She got married instead and moved away to a pretty house outside the city. The only thing I can’t understand is why…. her husband is going to take her home.” From what Esperanza describes, Ruthie seems as though, once again, she was someone who was hardworking and successful. Yet, she lives on Mango Street in her mother’s house. From this we can infer that Ruthie’s relationship with her husband might have been in a toxic relationship, causing her to move out, leading her to have to give up on some of her dreams. 

Like Ruthie, Minerva, a girl only a few years older than Esperanza and who was abandoned by her husband and left to raise her 2 children on her own, is also a person who provides a great example of why one should follow their dreams and reach for a higher education. “She lets me read her poems. I let her read mine. She is always sad like a house on fire-always something wrong” (85). Not only does Minerva provide an example of what might happen to Esperanza if she marries at an early age, Minerva is also someone who indirectly encourages Esperanza to write by sharing her poems. As Esperanza describes them, Minerva’s poems are sad, and reminiscent of her life with her husband, of her life falling apart. The fact that Esperanza gets to find out about these emotions through literature, something she has a connection with, probably results in Esperanza remembering these emotions for longer, and more vividly. Esperanza’s Aunt, Guadalupe, was someone who was always willing to listen to what Esperanza had to say. Esperanza would read her books and poems, and her aunt would listen. One day Esperanza read her aunt a poem she wrote. “I want to be/ like the waves on the sea/ like the clouds in the wind/ but I’m me. / One day I’ll jump out of my skin. /I’ll shake the sky / like a hundred violins.” To which her aunt replies: “That’s nice. That’s very good, she said in her tired voice. You just remember to keep writing, Esperanza. You must keep writing. It will keep you free, and I said yes, but at that time I didn’t know what she meant.” In the poem Esperanza described her dream of being someone better, someone with more freedom, someone who wasn’t oppressed in the role society expected her to be. When hearing this Esperanza’s Aunt was likely reminded about what happened to many women around Esperanza, warning her what might happen if she doesn’t fight for what should be given from birth. As you can see, Minerva and Ruthie are just a few of the important women in Esperanza’s life that guide her to a bright future. 

The powerful women in the book do not just remind Esperanza about many of the injustices women have to face through their lives. The women, like Esperanza’s mother, aunt, and neighbors all provide examples and guide Esperanza to follow her dreams and strive for a fair education. As the reader follows along with the story they are also reminded that in a way without education, today’s society traps you. Through the book women close to Esperanza play an important role showing Esperanza different cases of oppression. Women who Esperanza is acquainted with also play an important role in providing Esperanza with vivid examples of what a lack of education can result in. Though one may think that this is a great story about the struggles a young girl named Esperanza faces, this story is also an important reminder to the readers. It shows the life of not just Esperanza, but many other young girls who live in minorities. And though basic education may not seem like a big problem to some, it really is. According to comparison.com, 39 percent of children living in minorities or poverty around the world do not get a basic education. Thanks to her mentors, Esperanza refuses to be another statistic.