The title of the book "The House on Mango Street" raises expectations and creates questions of its content and intent. Will it be the story of a family in the south, where Mangos grow? Will we meet different characters who inhabit the same house one after another? Or will the house be one-of-its-kind on this special street? In actuality, Sandra Cisneros tells the story of a girl, Esperanza, who lives in a house, set on Mango Street, in a fictional part of Chicago.
The 44 vignettes have their roots in stories Cisneros heard, saw, or experienced in real life. The singular in the title should therefore be a plural, because a great number of houses feature in the book. Esperanza visits family and friends while searching for her own future. The House on Mango Street is a growing-up story, yet buildings do not grow into anything. They are falling into disrepair more often than not. So why does a house feature so prominently in the title of a book on growing up? I will argue, that the house in this book can be read as the female body in a patriarchal society. Its immobile state an accusation in the face of a need for change.
In 1984 Sandra Cisneros published The House on Mango Street and became one of the first widely read writers of the Chicana movement. A movement that filled the void left for women of Mexican heritage by the U.S. feminist movement on the one hand, and the Chicano movement on the other hand. White middle class women fought for political equality, women’s suffrage, and reproduction rights; Latino males fought for equal opportunity with and recognition from the dominant white U.S. American culture. The Chicana had very little interest in political rights, since she was usually concerned with questions of laundry and cooking. She didn’t want to fight for recognition from dominant culture, because she was still dominated by males of her own culture.
While the Chicana movement achieved recognition and won many battles since then, the current climate in U.S. politics, the fear of immigrants, the disregard for women’s rights to their bodies, shows that there is much to be done. The House on Mango Street remains a book of utmost consequence to feminism, immigration and integration. What Sandra Cisneros captured, and I will try to show, is how the way we think about women influences the way we act toward them and how the same thoughts act on our self-perception.
Table of Contents
1. Metaphors
2. Invisibility and Objectification
3. Fathers
4. History
5. Past
6. Present
7. Future
8. End
Objectives and Core Themes
The academic paper examines the metaphor of the house as a physical and symbolic representation of the female body within the patriarchal society depicted in Sandra Cisneros’ *The House on Mango Street*. It seeks to demonstrate how the protagonist, Esperanza, navigates the constraints imposed by her environment and the objectification of women to forge an independent identity.
- The conceptual metaphor of "women are buildings" and its impact on self-perception.
- The systemic invisibility and objectification of Chicana women in a patriarchal framework.
- The role of fathers and male figures as obstacles to female movement and autonomy.
- The influence of cultural history and myths on the social status of women.
- The search for a path to independence through education and creative self-expression.
Excerpt from the Book
Invisibility and Objectification
When the reader is introduced to Esperanza and her family it is through the places of living, up to the story’s present. Her family grew with each move, suggesting a home for the young family that is reminiscent of a young female body, growing with each child, until the girl disappears and the idealized mother appears from her ashes. The mother and her idealized image as the earth is epitomized by many cultures. Her body giving life, nurturing, protecting. Frieda Kahlo painted mother earth in her 1949 “The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth, Myself, Diego and Senor Xolotl.” Here, mother earth encompasses all, but her body ends at the breasts, missing the lower half. She is separated from her body and her sexuality, to allow motherhood the spotlight.
The book oscillates in its description of the female body between objectification and invisibility. In the first part of the book, from Cathy (12) to Rafaela (79) different women are introduced to the reader. Before we get to see what the women look like, what they do, who they are, we are told where they live. Usually this is the place in a narrative where a person’s appearance is described, as even Cisneros herself does, for example in “Salvador”, a short story of the collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991). It opens with: “Salvador with eyes the color of caterpillar, Salvador of the crooked hair and crooked teeth, Salvador whose name the teacher cannot remember, is a boy who is no one’s friend” (10). In The House on Mango Street the place of residence takes up all of this introductory space: “She lives upstairs, over there, next door to Joe the baby-grabber.” (12) and “She is Edna’s daughter, the lady who owns the big building next door, three apartments front and back” (67).
Summary of Chapters
Metaphors: Explores the conceptual use of metaphors in literature, specifically focusing on the idea that "women are buildings" within the narrative of the novel.
Invisibility and Objectification: Analyzes how the narrator introduces female characters through their living spaces, effectively reducing them to objects and rendering their bodies invisible.
Fathers: Examines the role of paternal figures as restrictive barriers that define female roles and enforce a patriarchal hierarchy.
History: Discusses the impact of Aztec mythology and patriarchal traditions on the current oppression of Chicanas.
Past: Analyzes Esperanza's reflections on her mother's life and the inherent constraints of her family's living situation.
Present: Focuses on characters like Sally to illustrate how domestic confinement and marriage continue to trap women in cycles of abuse.
Future: Details Esperanza’s journey toward independence, self-ownership, and her rejection of the virgin-mother dichotomy.
End: Summarizes the conclusion that Esperanza builds a new conceptual "house" of her own, rooted in education and autonomy.
Keywords
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street, Chicana movement, female body, metaphor, patriarchal society, objectification, domesticity, identity, autonomy, gender roles, literary analysis, feminism, immigration, integration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores how the imagery of houses in Sandra Cisneros' novel serves as a metaphor for the female body and the systemic patriarchal oppression faced by Chicana women.
What are the central thematic areas covered?
The core themes include the intersection of identity and space, the critique of the male gaze, the sociological construction of the female body, and the struggle for agency within a marginalized culture.
What is the main research question of this study?
The study investigates how the author utilizes architectural metaphors to reflect the social confinement and the potential for liberation of the female protagonist.
Which scientific methodology is employed here?
The paper utilizes a literary and structural analysis combined with concepts from cognitive linguistics—specifically metaphor theory—and socio-cultural critiques of gender.
What is discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body breaks down the novel into its symbolic layers, examining the link between housing, gender roles, history, and the developmental stages of the protagonist's path to freedom.
Which keywords characterize this analysis best?
Key terms include Chicana movement, metaphor, objectification, female body, patriarchal constraints, and literary autonomy.
How does the author define the relationship between "the house" and "the father"?
The paper argues that the father is often portrayed as the owner and architect of the domestic space, representing the patriarchal control that keeps women and their stories confined.
What role does the "attic" play in the final analysis of the book?
The attic is interpreted as a symbolic space for Esperanza's intellectual freedom, representing a place above the menial "earthly" struggles of domestic life, allowing her to connect with her creativity.
How is the transition from childhood to womanhood portrayed in the book according to the analysis?
The analysis suggests that this transition is depicted through the conflict between internalized beauty standards and the desire for intellectual and social self-determination.
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- Anja Mittelstedt (Autor:in), 2018, The House as the Female Body in "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/439378
