There is economic dependency on women remaining in the home, and with these foundations that Esperanza begins with her "own quiet war. [. . .] she leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate" versus being the servant, the woman, who puts back the chair and picks up the plate. Burcar argues that the novel ends on a note where it blames a patriarchal system for the entrapment of Mexican-American women in the home. For Esperanza, joining mainstream America (having a "house of own") will allow her freedom as a woman. However, Burcar contends that this emancipation comes at the expense of the sacrifice of other women, women that came before her, particularly her mother.