Beautiful and Cruel
In this vignette, Esperanza describes how people think of her as a good for nothing person. She also describes how some people want to get married and go away like Minerva's sister or they don't want to wait their whole life for a husband like Nenny. But her mom says that she will grow up and be a housewife like mostly every other female. But she doesn't want to be that way and she doesn't wan to grow up tame. So she starts a quiet war that shows she will be different than the other females by acting more like a man.
I believe that the theme of this vignette is oppression of women. I believe that oppression of women is the theme of the vignette because the text states, "My mother says when I get older my dusty hair will settle and my blouse will learn to stay clean..." That means that her mom believes that Esperanza will grow up and not do anything extraordinary, like she will just be a housewife and only care for the family. But the thing is that Esperanza does not want "to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain." That is why she "leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate."