Windows In The House On Mango Street

The glass ceiling is a modern term used to describe the metaphorical barrier that women face, preventing them from promotion to top jobs in management. The House on Mango Street depicts a similar theme of the oppression of women through the repetitive use of windows. Sandra Cisneros brilliantly writes of windows in several situations where women lookout to envision a happier life. The narrator, Esperanza, sees many women in her life trapped, windows being the only connection to the outside world. She sees these women as constant reminders of her identity and the negative ways women are treated. Women are prohibited by men to truly experience freedom. In Cisnero’s novel, windows are a translucent gateway, representing the border that women face. Due to the influencing women in her life, Esperanza desires to be a strong, independent woman with a house of her own and the ability to experience life fully, without being trapped behind a window. Cisneros uses windows in The House on Mango Street to depict the struggles of womanhood and the desire to live freely despite the common oppressions faced by many women.

Cisneros uses windows to show the invisible barrier of oppression women face because of common gender roles and prohibiting men. The first use of windows occurs in “My Name.” Esperanza describes her grandmother’s restricted life. “She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow...I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window” (11). Esperanza does not want to end up similar to her grandmother because of the wretched way her grandmother’s husband treated her. He took away her grandmother’s hopes and dreams by treating her as an object instead of an equal, diminishing her self-respect, and leaving her to think about what could have been. Esperanza’s grandmother was trapped because of oppression and treated unfairly because of her womanhood. 

Cisneros uses windows to illustrate the restriction of free will that women often face. “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays” shows a woman dreaming of freedom. She can see the outside world and dreams of dancing carelessly, but “... Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at” (79). The treatment of women is shown boldly and clearly through Cisneros’s repetitive use of windows. Rafaela, like Esperanza’s grandmother, is trapped because of the

men in her life and societal expectations of women. Cisnero expertly uses the story of Rafaela leaning out the window to show the invisible barrier of oppression that women must overcome to reach true happiness. 

Women’s oppression in The House on Mango Street is represented by women of different ages and backgrounds. Sally became an increasingly important character in The House on Mango Street because of the way she represents the unfair expectations of young women during the era. Esperanza constantly compares herself to Sally, but Sally quickly transitions from a mature child to an immature adult because of a marriage she is not prepared for. Sally brashly marries a man before she is in eighth grade “And he doesn’t let her look out the window” (102). The naivety and youthfulness of Sally depict the horrendous issues faced by women in this society. Sally sees nothing wrong in marrying this young, wanting to be happy by leaving one abusive household and entering another. However, Esperanza uses Sally’s story as a precaution and develops a longing for complete freedom in her life. Sally’s story illustrates the overarching message of the damage of women’s oppression and the unfair expectations of women from a young age. 

One of the most prevalent and significant items in the house on mango street is windows. Windows are used to show the many challenges faced by women during the set time of the novel. They could be seen to represent many different ideas and are constantly used to show the desire of women, as the glass is a barrier that restricts women from reaching freedom in life. Cisneros uses windows continually to show that oppression is a never-ending curse that women face in all stages of their lives. Esperanza, seeing and hearing about the barriers the women around her face, decides to seek a more independent lifestyle, free from her place by the window.