For as long as gender has been a thing, it has been given a major importance over character, but the truth is that humans should look at each other as just the humans they are. The novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan takes as major influence from the roles of women in society as the heroine, Esperanza and her mother face challenges and changes as their gender is placed in an inferior class. Esperanza does not lose her home just because her uncles hold an superior position as mayor and banker but also as men of Mexico. She is forced to move away to the U.S., but even then, her gender becomes a major set back from working in certain jobs. Throughout Esperanza Rising, gender is regarded as a part of laws, culture, and customs that were set in society to allow it to function properly. While laws are meant to improve a society and maintain order, in most cases it can cause more harm than good in people. Esperanza lost her father and now her mother was in the middle of losing the entire estate. For a long time her uncles had been keeping an eye on the ranch and now that their brother had died and Esperanza’s mother was left without support, they took a chance to claim what was once their brother’s.
The lawyer states, “Ramona, your husband, Sixto Ortega, left you this house and all of its contents to you and your daughter. You will also receive the yearly income from the grapes. As you know, it is not customary to leave a land to woman and since Luis was the banker on the loan, Sixto left the land to him”. Now that Esperanza’s father was “out of the picture”, her uncles had achieved full control over their lives. However, her uncle, Luis was not only after the estate but also Esperanza’s mother because since she and Sixto were greatly respected by other citizens, Luis would be able to win any elections he planned entered with her as the wife. As a woman, her mother had no control over his decisions and the estate but while she controlled herself and her daughter, she would not become the wife of Luis. Ramona chose to refuse his offer because even while she would be better off in regards to money, he would do his best to separate her from Esperanza. Even while laws were important and she was supposed to follow his every command, for her, it would cause internal conflict and sadness to leave behind everything that Sixto had worked so hard to raise. Although, this move only infuriates him more as he was rejected by her and humiliated by a woman which caused him to show her fear. Since it is customary that men are in control of land and money in Mexico, it was only normal that Ramona would be given so much. It would have caused greater conflict if she was given authority over land because it would represent weakness in the law and destroy the natural order of society in which woman would respect and serve men.
The culture within each society is cultivated by its people to represent their identity and overall ways of living, but with every culture comes a dark side that absolutely disrespects its people. The culture within Esperanza Rising corresponds to the Mexican identity in which women are regarded as those who will please men and forever live under their rule. The narrator said, “Then she dropped her head and stared at the ground. ‘I will consider your proposal,’ said Mama”(Muñoz Ryan, 45). To fool Luis once again she pretended to accept his proposal with absolute obedience. However, little did he know that she would leave him soon enough and cause him a greater amount of embarrassment by abandoning his proposal. He expected Ramona to eventually comply with his terms because he was accustomed by traditional practices in which a woman will please a man. To assure his marriage with Ramona he even burned down her house, the very last thing Sixto left them with to live in, to make her fear him and his threats. As Ramona was torn with choosing between her daughter and a guaranteed life with money, she chose to live what made her happy. Even while her “gender” prevented her from obtaining control of the land, she chose to create a new life in which she could control how she would act and how her daughter would grow up, without the influences of Luis. In Esperanza’s case, culture practically forms the very foundations of laws and gender expectations as she was put in an inferior spot while her uncles ruined everything they treasured without her having a say in it for being a woman. Ramona went completely against her culture as a woman that would serve men which, during her time, was strictly enforced and forbidden that a woman would disrespect or live without a man unless she was to become a nun. However, no matter where she went, both her and Esperanza would face the fact that females are a the “weaker gender” that could never do what men are put to do and could never be what men could be.
Customs are only guidelines by which humans learn to live by, but there is always a weak point to them that makes them useless for controlling society. Esperanza and her mother along with a family of their servants, planned an escape to the U.S. Of course they had to leave her grandma behind after she fractured her ankle in the fire, but they planned to meet once again when she got better. They left for a new start to life, working in the camps in the U.S. to earn money and never be bothered by Luis and his bank. However, even while they were able to pursue their dreams of earning more, gender was a leading part of the american society that separates men and women in the working class. Miguel told Esperanza, “It’s only men in the fields right now, and your not old enough to work in the sheds”(Muñoz Ryan, 166). Esperanza was faced with gender inequality even in the U.S. as her hope was diminished by Miguel when he said that only men were able to work in the fields. And even while she did find work, it was something simple that people thought woman would be the most capable of doing. It was enough to sustain Esperanza and allow her to bring her grandmother to the U.S. with her but in the end there is a gender inequality that creates injustice between woman and men in society. Esperanza and her mother were also met with unfair conditions as they were only allowed to live in a cabin as long as there was a man. However, it is all a part of customs and something that the author, Pam Muñoz Ryan included to emphasize the effect that woman are leaving as they stand against the social images and expectations that society has placed on them. It is custom that females would wear dresses, satisfy the demands of men, create an ideal woman, and become house wives but Esperanza and her mother defy all possible customs of her country and the U.S. during her time as they become a part of the working class and fend for themselves without the absolute watch from a man.
Overall, the majority of Esperanza’s struggles were met with the inequality of gender roles and expectations. Her mother was unable to take control of the land just because she was a woman and leaving her in the ownership of the estate would paint a bad reputation and show weakness in their country as woman were now “becoming men” in a way. Esperanza’s mother was also incapable of directly refusing her uncles proposal because he threatened her by burning their house down to invoke fear and then leaving her with no choice but to marry unless she wanted him to pass some unfortunate events to the servants as well. And even when they moved to California, they faced the same rules, that woman would have to live with one man in the family and they were only allowed to work in certain jobs considered to be for those who are incapable of tending fields or with little strength. Esperanza’s life was met with gender inequality as it affected how her life would turn out once she lost her father. However, even when her gender prohibited her and her mother from doing what they wanted, their character showed much more determination that allowed them to earn everything they had always hoped for and in the end starting over a new life together in which they would be a complete family that would rise again.
