![]() ![]() The text is thus punctuated by women who are trapped in their houses constructed by patriarchy. Her situation is similar to Sally who “sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission” (102). Rafaela, too, is an example of a woman confined within the house by her husband “because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at” (79). Her great grandmother, whom she was named after, was described as “a wild horse of a woman” who was relegated to looking “out the window her whole life, the way many women sit their sadness on an elbow” (11) after being forced into a marriage. Elsewhere, she recognizes the restrictive quality of the house. But outside they can’t be seen talking to girls” (8). Esperanza notes that “the boys and girls live in separate worlds… got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the home. ![]() ![]() The exterior of the house is a reflection of the constraint that is present inside it. White with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence” (4), yet the Corderos can only settle in a house on Mango Street that is “small and red with tight steps in front and windows so small” (4). The novel opens with a yearning that is reminiscent of the American dream, to acquire “a real house that would be ours for always…. ![]()
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