Summary:
Three sisters, three aunts, "who
[do] not seem to be related to anything but the moon," arrive in the Mango
Street community, just after Lucy and Rachel's baby sister dies. Esperanza
meets these three strange women when she visits Lucy and Rachel's house to pay
her respects. Examining her hands, the sisters tell Esperanza that she will go
far. They tell her to make a wish. She does. The sisters promise her that her
wish will come true: "We know, we know." One of the sisters tells Esperanza
that, when she leaves, she must "remember to come back for the others. for the
ones who cannot leave as easily as you."
Analysis
In one of the most highly and explicitly
symbolic passages in the book, Cisneros evokes the ancient mythological image
of the Fates: "in Greek religion and mythology, three goddesses who controlled
human lives. Clotho, who spun the web of life; Lachesis, who measured its
length; and Atropos, who cut it" (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,
sixth edition). The three women whom Esperanza meets symbolize the Fates; thus,
they symbolize Esperanza's destiny. She will leave Mango Street for, readers
can only presume, a home of her own-we can assume this is the wish that Esperanza
makes-but she will also, in some way-and not necessarily literally-return, "for
the others." The sisters' words thus anticipate the novel's conclusion (see
"Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes"). They also summarize the tension, throughout
the novel, regarding one's identity: one can shape one's identity, but not
outside of the experiences and background one cannot choose or change. |
