In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Rafaela is a young woman who lives on Esperanza’s street. Rafaela is a beautiful girl who has taken a husband very young, however her partner is not the man of her dreams. She lives with her spouse, spending lots of time locked inside her room. She sits on her windowsill wishing she could go to the bar and find a better lover, but instead she must settle for her coconut and papaya juice, her current mediocre husband. Rafaela wants to find someone who will take care of her and love her, a companion better than she currently has. However, no matter how kind or loving her spouse is, Rafaela will not be happy because she always wants more. Until Rafaela learns to be happy with herself instead of depending on her lover, she will never be able to stop wishing and wanting, trapped by her marriage.
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The biggest piece of Rafaela’s identity is her lust for a prince charming: someone who will come and take her away. She sits on her windowsill wishing she could go to the bar around the corner and find a different man; however, because she is trapped by her marriage, she can’t. Rafaela drinks her juice and wishes it is sweeter. She sits in her room, wishing it was less lonely. She waits by the window and waits and wishes, “[leaning] out the window and [leaning] on her elbow and dreams” (79). Rafaela is not content with what has happened to her; however, she is doing nothing to change it. Instead she is looking out the window, much like Esperanza’s grandma, waiting for someone else. Rafaela wants things to change, but she isn’t willing to change them herself. Instead, Rafaela has made herself dependent on someone else for happiness and fulfillment. Rafaela desires a husband that is better than the one she has right now; she wishes to escape. However, Rafaela can not escape simply because of the cycle she has caught herself in. When Esperanza is describing her interactions with Rafaela, she says that there will always be “someone offering sweeter drinks, someone promising to keep [her] on a silver string” (80). Esperanza sees the cycle, the loop that Rafaela is in; because no matter how nice or perfect or sweet Rafaela’s husband is, she will always want more. Rafaela has had the taste of the sweet concoction that is her marriage; however, now she wants sweeter. Now Rafaela craves an even more pleasant drink: a more appealing marriage. Someone who will keep her on a leash with money and charm: a silver string locking her in her room forever. To truly be satisfied and find her home in the heart, Rafaela needs to let go of the part of herself that craves so desperately for a lover. Until she is able to find peace within herself, she is trapped and can not grow or change. As long as Rafaela longs to find a new and sweeter potion, she will never be content with what she has. Every Tuesday while she is locked in her room, Rafaela “drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice” and “wishes there were sweeter drinks, not bitter like an empty room” (80). Rafaela is not
The biggest piece of Rafaela’s identity is her lust for a prince charming: someone who will come and take her away. She sits on her windowsill wishing she could go to the bar around the corner and find a different man; however, because she is trapped by her marriage, she can’t. Rafaela drinks her juice and wishes it is sweeter. She sits in her room, wishing it was less lonely. She waits by the window and waits and wishes, “[leaning] out the window and [leaning] on her elbow and dreams” (79). Rafaela is not content with what has happened to her; however, she is doing nothing to change it. Instead she is looking out the window, much like Esperanza’s grandma, waiting for someone else. Rafaela wants things to change, but she isn’t willing to change them herself. Instead, Rafaela has made herself dependent on someone else for happiness and fulfillment. Rafaela desires a husband that is better than the one she has right now; she wishes to escape. However, Rafaela can not escape simply because of the cycle she has caught herself in. When Esperanza is describing her interactions with Rafaela, she says that there will always be “someone offering sweeter drinks, someone promising to keep [her] on a silver string” (80). Esperanza sees the cycle, the loop that Rafaela is in; because no matter how nice or perfect or sweet Rafaela’s husband is, she will always want more. Rafaela has had the taste of the sweet concoction that is her marriage; however, now she wants sweeter. Now Rafaela craves an even more pleasant drink: a more appealing marriage. Someone who will keep her on a leash with money and charm: a silver string locking her in her room forever. To truly be satisfied and find her home in the heart, Rafaela needs to let go of the part of herself that craves so desperately for a lover. Until she is able to find peace within herself, she is trapped and can not grow or change. As long as Rafaela longs to find a new and sweeter potion, she will never be content with what she has. Every Tuesday while she is locked in her room, Rafaela “drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice” and “wishes there were sweeter drinks, not bitter like an empty room” (80). Rafaela is not