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Alliteration
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Chapter 41: The Three Sisters
Explanation and Analysis—Three Fates:
Cisneros makes an allusion to the three fates of Greek mythology in "The Three Sisters" chapter:
They came with the wind that blows in August, thin as a spider web and barely noticed. Three who did not seem to be related to anything but the moon. One with laughter like tin and one with eyes of a cat and one with hands like porcelain. The aunts, the three sisters, las comadres, they said.
The three aunts, or three sisters, are involved with life and death just like the three fates of Greek mythology. Esperanza's three aunts come for a funeral and predict her future, whereas the three fates of mythology spin the weave of life and death, snipping threads when a person's life ended. The phrase "thin as a spider web" reinforces this allusion, given the role of weaving in the myth of the three fates and the connection between spiders and weaving in Greek mythology.
This allusion emphasizes what the three aunts tell Esperanza about her future: "You will always be Mango Street. You can't erase what you know... can't forget who you are." In other words, Esperanza can not forget her family and ancestry. She can not forget who she is, Mango Street, the home that represents her place in the community as well as her future dreams of her own house. She can not forget where she comes from and who she will be. By having characters who represent fate itself convey this message to Esperanza, the message itself becomes one of particular significance, making it feel inevitable. Esperanza will, as she resolves in the last chapter, come back and tell stories for those who can not tell their own: the fates have willed it.
Related Themes:
