The Live's of Women in The House on Mango Street vs. Juliet's life in Romeo and Juliet

     In both Romeo and Juliet and The House on Mango Street women lives are in a sense lived for them. In The House on Mango Street, many women characters including Rafaela, Sally and Esperanza's great grandmother are imposed on by the male figures in their families. Esperanza's great grand mother is taken away by her great grandfather and forced to live inside, this is the same with Rafaela who is also forced to stay inside the house at all times. Their dreams are cut short by men. Juliet's life is also controlled by her family. Her parents want her to marry Paris even though she resits because she is married to Romeo, which they do not know. Her will is of no value to her parents, they are willing to kick her out of the family and on to the streets if she does not marry Paris. In both books the women do not have many alternatives, the only option they seemingly have is to run away. But even that is not easily done because they are locked inside the house. These two novel have much in common when it comes to women but they are under different circumstances. Both novels reflect the machismo attitude.