Gender Stereotypes In The House On Mango Street

In the memoir The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, many characters try to escape Mango Street and to a better life away from the oppressive gender stereotypes that they are forced into. In the chapters “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice” and “Marin” the two characters, Rafaela and Marin, both want someone to take them away, allowing them to escape Mango Street. Both characters struggle with the gender stereotypes forced on them as men around them disrespect them for how beautiful they are. Finally, both characters have no power over their financial or living situations. Marin hopes for a man to take her away from Mango Street and get married. Rafaela wants to be free from her controlling husband and be able to fully experience

Finally, both characters wish to escape from Mango Street to a better life. In “Marin” Marin brings up a man marrying her and taking her away multiple times. “Can meet someone in the subway who might marry you and take you to live in a big house far away”. Marin is trying to escape by marrying a rich man. She is probably so focused on what she looks like because she sees that as a ticket to a better life. Whenever she describes someone she wants to marry, it is always about the places he could bring her and the money he has. This shows that maybe Marin doesn’t want to marry someone, she just wants to escape Mango Street. Rafaela also wants someone to come and take her away. In “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice” Rafael constantly wishes to be able to dance and be free from the confines of her house. While stuck looking out the window “Rafaela leans out the window and leans on her elbow and dreams her hair is like Rapunzle’s”. In the story Rapunzel, her hair is very long and a man climbs it and takes her away from the tower she was trapped in. Rafaela wanting her hair shows how Rafaela wishes someone could come and take her