Analysis Of Isabel Allende's House Of The Spirits

1324 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of the house of spirits

House of the Spirits is a novel by Isabel Allende that follows three generations of Trueba women-Clara, Blanca, and Alba-as they struggle against Esteban Trueba, the patriarch of the Trueba family. Allende's family was very involved in politics and because of this, there is a strong political underlay throughout Allende's whole novel. Emerged in a world of magical realism, House of the Spirits allows its readers to go on a wild journey filled with emotion.

Isabel Allende was born in Lima, Peru in 1942 but, after her parent's divorce, was raised by her mother in Chile. Isabel's father, Thomas Allende, was a diplomat and the Chilean ambassador to Peru. Her father's cousin, Salvadore Allende, was the president of Chile from 1970 until his assassination in 1973. After Salvadore's death, Isabel came to realize that it was too dangerous for her to stay in Chile so she fled with her husband and their two children to Venezuela. While in Venezuela, Allende was inspired to write House of the Spirits.

Although it is never stated as fact, the setting of this novel is understood to be Chile because the political history of the country forms part of the plot. The story opens with two of the Del Valle sisters in church. Clara, the youngest daughter, has many spiritual abilities and is therefore described as Clara the Clairvoyant. Rosa, the oldest daughter is strikingly beautiful with her otherworldly looks and is called Rosa the Beautiful. In the first chapter of the novel, foreshadowing is used when Clara's spiritual gifts allow her to see that there will be a death in the family. A few days later, Rosa dies, thus fulfilling Clara's prediction. Clara refuses talking for quite a while after her sister's death. When she finally ...

... middle of paper ...

...ff to Esteban Trueba in the morning. Alba and Esteban decide to restore their house and continue living as normally as is possible under the circumstances. Alba decides that to help herself cope she should write about her family. Her and Esteban find Clara's old journals and use them to write their family's history. Writing helps them both release their anger and need for revenge.

This novel had many underlying concepts but I believe the most pronounced one to be that the Trueba family represents Chile in the 1900s. As was once noted in an interview, Allende ""proposes the family as a model for her divided country: members of this family have oppressed, wounded, and tortured each other, but they are the same ones who must now heal one another. The family she posits is all of Chile." This novel really shows how, if we are united, we can accomplish anything.

Show More
Related

  • Themes in Rain of Gold, by Victor Villasenor

    2724 Words  | 6 Pages

    I really enjoyed all of the characters and this book tremendously. Both Lupe's and Juan's mother were very strong and God fearing women. They had a very strong bind between their children who were taught values and morals. This book made me want to know my ancestral routes and learn more about my culture. Since this book was a true story about Victor Villasenor's family, it made the stories even more real. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves to read.

    Read More

  • How Is The Relationship Between Pedro And Rosaura In Like Water For Chocolate

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the next few weeks go on we see Pedro and Tita's relationship develop. The biggest change is when Pedro's son Roberto is born. Tita begins to breast feed Roberto because Rosaura had no milk after the strain of her pregnancy. The author uses imagery to express the feelings of longing between Pedro and Tita by writing about the looks they gave each other. Specifically when Pedro looked at Tita, it was a look that, when matched with Tita's "fused so perfectly that whoever saw them would have seen but a single look, a single rhythmic and sensual motion." This look changed their relationship forever, it bonded them together and they would never be separated in their hearts. This shows that the theme of, true love can withstand anything, is true. After this interaction between them they had been less careful about hiding from Mama Elena and when the baptism rolled around Mama Elena had seen enough. She decided, in the middle of the party that Pedro, Rosaura and Roberto would be moving to San Antonio to be with her cousin. They left and after about a year Mama Elena passed

    Read More

  • Questions and Comments on Bartolome de las Casas

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    Question #1: In chapter one, does Zinn portray Bartolome de las Casas as an adversary of Indians?

    Read More

  • House of the Spirits

    955 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Allende’s The House of the Spirits, Esteban Trueba is the principal male character. During the course of the novel, Trueba increases his power in the world as he progresses in status from a conservative landowner to a powerful senator. He is tyrannical, treating his family members and the tenants on his family hacienda, Tres Marías, like subjects rather than intimate community. The basis for most of Trueba's actions is the desire for power, control, and wealth, and he pursues these things at any cost, disregarding his emotional decline and the effects of his actions upon the people in his life.

    Read More

  • Magical Realism and Unrequited Love in Isabel Allende’s “The Little Heidelberg”

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Isabel Allende’s Story, “The Little Heidelberg”, love and magical realism can be observed. There are plentiful details in describing the physical characteristics of the setting and the people and scenery within the tale. These techniques reinforce the theme, of which is unrequited love.

    Read More

  • So Far from God by Ana Castillo

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).

    Read More

  • Women In Federico García Lorca's La Casa De Bernarda Alba

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Federico García Lorca’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba, a tyrant woman rules over her five daughters and household with absolute authority. She prevents her daughters from having suitors and gives them little to no freedom, especially with regard to their sexualities and desires. They must conform to the traditional social expectations for women through sewing, cleaning, as well as staying pure and chaste. While, as John Corbin states in The Modern Language Review, “It was entirely proper for a respectable woman in [Bernarda’s] position to manage her household strictly and insist that the servants keep it clean, to defend its reputation, ensure the sexual purity of her daughters, and promote advantageous marriages for them,” Bernarda inordinately

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Who does not want a home? A shelter to sleep and a roof to dine under. Of course no one wanted to stay home forever, but once in awhile and even when far away, they will long to return to that sacred place, the place where they grew up and the place they have left behind, home. The desire for a home (or house to be precise, though there was not much of a different for this case) was realistically reflected through a fiction work of Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican American write, a story called The House on Mango Street, where we shall discuss about its setting, plot and character.

    Read More

  • The Fortune Teller, by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “The Fortune Teller,” the author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, uses symbolism to prove to one that an affair is not worth a person’s life. He uses the letter to symbolize hate between Villela and Camillo regarding the affair. This very ambiguous letter has terrified Camillo and put an end to his life. The letter enhances the theme of the short story by showing the anger and hate that Villela now had for Camillo. This hate is a focal point in the short story that leads to ending the affair along with Camillo and Rita’s life. Ultimately, the affair caused a large amount of tension between the three. However, the author was successful in grabbing the reader’s attention with the letter as the turning point of the short story.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of The Judge's Wife By Isabel Allende

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Judge’s Wife” a short story written by Isabel Allende presents many of the necessary techniques required to write an effective short story. Alledende’s keen use of setting, character development, and point of view dramatically affect the way the reader perceives the story during crucial turning points throughout the story. Alledende uses these devices to make the theme of fate being inescapable, no matter how hard on tries to avoid it. setting, character development, and point of view play a vital role within the story and without them it would be impossible to fully understand the story.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Esperanza in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    Esperanza, a strong- willed girl who dreams big despite her surroundings and restrictions, is the main character in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Esperanza represents the females of her poor and impoverished neighborhood who wish to change and better themselves. She desires both sexuality and autonomy of marriage, hoping to break the typical life cycle of woman in her family and neighborhood. Throughout the novel, she goes through many different changes in search of identity and maturity, seeking self-reliance and interdependence, through insecure ideas such as owning her own house, instead of seeking comfort and in one’s self. Esperanza matures as she begins to see the difference. She evolves from an insecure girl to a mature young lady through her difficult life experiences and the people she comes across. It is through personal encounters and experiences that Esperanza begins to become sexually aware and acceptance her place and self-definition in her community.

    Read More

  • Isabel Allende?s ?Two Words

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because Belisa Crepusculario had such a difficult childhood in which she experienced so much loss in her life, she is forced to become a stronger person both mentally and physically to survive such devastating circumstances. It will ultimately be this strong sense of survival that she develops through these experiences of great loss, which will guide her through the survival of life threatening situations.

    Read More

  • The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    The one of the main themes in the epilogue, and in the entire novel is

    Read More

  • Isabel Allende's And Of Clay Are Created

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story, “And of Clay Are We Created” written by Isabel Allende, a reporter named Rolf finds himself alone with a small girl, Azucena, of whom he tries to save from a mudslide. As tragedy strikes, he finds himself staying by her side until help arrives. His darkest secrets creep out of the dark as he begins to tell the girl stories from his childhood. In the end, he lets her sink into the mud as she closes her eyes to fall into a peaceful sleep that becomes the end of her life. The theme of the story is that as a person, no one can move on if they have not taken care of their personal demons or past that haunts them. The author shows multiple forms of literary devices within the story, such as foreshadowing, flashbacks, and imagery, to form the theme of the story.

    Read More

  • Isabel Allende Two Words Analysis

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Fear is inevitable, I have to accept that, but I cannot allow it to paralyze me.” Fear, a way how I overcome all this misunderstanding of fear is by remembering all the people that are always there for me whenever I need to overcome an obstacle that is blocking me from reaching my ambition. Two Words, written by Isabel Allende, is about a woman named Belisa, known as the one that sells words plus a man named Colonel, ruthless, presidential candidate, and lonely which Belisa, the only person able to sense this pure loneliness had written the Colonel’s speech for one peso just so he can be president of his country and had given him two secret words that changed his life. Transformation and transcendence, these two words are similar but

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Isabel Allende's House Of The Spirits

Open Document