Self-determination: Lucy and Esperanza

Esperanza’s character is similar to Lucy's as they break away from the constraints of the male sex. Even though Esperanza and Lucy are from two different socioeconomic classes, they both struggle to free themselves from the social stigma of being a woman. Esperanza has to fight against the expected future of a Latino woman living in poverty, which places these women at the window like her grandmother. These women are always under the authority and control of the men in their lives, either their father or their husband. Lucy has to deal with the same problem because in order to find happiness, she has to remove herself from the constraint of the English society, which forces her into marriage with a controlling man. Nevertheless, she finds strength to reject the male figure that views women as inferior being who needs guidance and training. At the end, both have determined for themselves their future and break away from the cultural constraint of being a woman.