Discussion Topic
Esperanza's Complex Relationship with Love, Violence, and Sexuality in The House on Mango Street
Summary:
In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza's relationship with love, violence, and sexuality is complex, reflecting her coming-of-age journey. Love and violence are intertwined as characters seek identity affirmation, often ending in abusive situations, like Sally's marriage. Esperanza is curious about sexuality, influenced by peers like Sally, but also repelled by the violence she witnesses. This duality leads her to seek belonging through love while avoiding potentially harmful sexual experiences, highlighting cultural and personal conflicts in her growth.
How are love and violence linked in The House on Mango Street? Why does Esperanza seek and avoid sexual experiences?
In The House on Mango Street, love and violence are directly linked as characters attempt to seek confirmation of their identities while ending up in circles of abuse. For example, in the vignette titled "Linoleum Roses," Sally has gotten married at a young age seemingly to gain a sense of freedom, independence, and belonging. She attempts to carry on this "loving" relationship with her husband; however, he abuses her and forces her to live within the limits of his control. Sally stays in this marriage under the guise of love and false happiness even though she suffers violence from her husband. The relationship confirms Sally's sense of identity that has been constructed around her low self-esteem.
Similarly, Esperanza seeks a sense of confirmation and belonging through love, and as she is growing up, she learns that love may be shown through physical, sexual acts. However, she also learns that...
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people hurt each other through sex, so she attempts to avoid situations that may be harmful.
In The House on Mango Street, why does Esperanza both seek and avoid sexual experiences?
It is important to remember that this is, above all, a very sensitive and poignant coming-of-age story told from the perspective of a Latino immigrant who is growing up in the world around her and at every turn sees fellow women being beaten, abused and suppressed. There is a sense of curiosity at what she sees, in, for example, vignettes such as "The Monkey Garden" when her friend Sally presumably has sex with some boys. Whilst she is repelled by such an event, we can also infer that this gives rise to an immense curiosity and pressure for her to do what all of her peers are doing:
I looked at my feet in their white socks and ugly round shoes. They seemed far away. They didn't seem to be my feet anymore.
There is a sense in which this quote displays the way that Esperanza is growing up and how unhappy she is with her own appearance, and how she wants to be older and maturer, like the example that she sees in Sally, as much as it offends her. Of course, to find out what happens when Esperanza does have her first sexual experience, you can read "Red Clowns," which is a moving account of Esperanza being molested.
Why does Esperanza both seek and avoid sexual experiences in The House on Mango Street?
The short answer is because she is a young girl, and like any young person coming of age, there is a point of sexual awareness, curiosity and awakening. And yet, as with anyone, Esperanza does not yet know all of the social rules and limitations that come with that awakening.
So she explores in some situations, where it seems to feel right, and retreats in situations where it doesn't. It is also quite culturally accurate in Latino families for a young person to learns this through trial and error. It is not something talked about openly by traditional Latino parents, especially with girls.