How Does Isabel Allonese Shape Eva Luna

“Eva Luna”, by Isabel Allende, entails the story of the protagonist with the same name, in which she lives through life and meets Rolf Carle. While the story mainly focuses on Eva’s life’s journey in South America, the novel also tells the story of Rolf Carle from his childhood in Austria to his meeting with Eva. In this novel, I noticed a variety of elements that can be explored by the well-known literary critic Northrop Frye. I will be using his “Hero from across the sea” theory to demonstrate how men influenced and shaped Eva Luna. According to Northrop Frye, the theory of “hero from across the sea” consists of a wasteland that is ruled by the impotent old king, whose land is being destroyed by a sea monster whose only goal is to demand

human sacrifice. In this story, the king's daughter “the princess tied to a rock” is chosen as a sacrifice to the sea monster, but luckily a “hero from across the sea” comes to her rescue, returning the “fertility” to the land.

I will prove that Riad Habali as a parental figure, played an immense role in Eva’s education, which ultimately shaped her as a person and influenced her as a writer. He can be considered to be the hero from across the sea, and Eva the princess tied to the rock. Firstly, he rescues her from poverty and hunger when she has no home after the incident with the red district. By saving her then, is as if he untied her from the rock that left her vulnerable to the sea monster, or in other words poverty. From then on, he taught her many skills and encouraged her education, independence, and freedom. One of the first acts that he did to encourage and support her education, was signing her up for private classes with Ines to learn two basic skills, reading and writing. In fact, he “decided that [she] could not… go through life without knowing how to read and write” (Allende, 172). This quote shows Riad’s care for Eva’s future. Once she learned these, a window of possibilities opened to her, especially with writing. Since she had the gift of storytelling, she enjoyed the ability to read other stories to inspire hers and then writing them down on paper. This allowed her to “ make stories more complex” (Allende, 173), that being though more complex languages or prompt that she never thought possible. In this case, the people before Riad Habali, such as “La Madrina” and “La Senora”, would be impotent kings that tied her down to a state of oblivion. Oblivion to literature and basics skills that kept her away from becoming successful in the future; luckily Riad Habli saved her from the sea monster that in this case would be not knowing how to read and write. A sea monster that silently deprives her of much of the world, thus, making Riad the hero that rescues her from ignorance and illiteracy.

Eva has to make an important decision in light of the rumors of her and Riad being together, she has to leave town. Fortunately, Riad, even in her departure provides her with support, he gives her “ money to live in the capital, enough to go to school and learn to make a living” (Allende, 229). This quote displays his deep understanding of the importance of education and his reinforcement of it to Eva; even if he can't be there to support her, he wishes her to go on with life, without the sea monster coming back. Another ‘lesson’ that he teaches her with his reinforcement of education, is the importance of independence to acquire freedom. He provided her with the uttermost important essential lesson to being free; education. Knowing how to read and write, could allow her to pursue higher-education, and/or get a job, thus allowing her to eventually become financially independent. He says “Freedom begins with financial independence” (Allende, 241), as a way to encourage her to set a foot on the right path, a path in which she would be free. Overall Riad influenced her in a way that he inculcated values such as, the importance of studying and education in order to obtain freedom. However, the most important way in which he shaped her as a woman was by allowing her to learn to write. After she left him, she took with her this skill and later used it to write telenovelas. Eva accomplished what Riad wanted for her; because she obtained the proper education, she was able to get jobs, which eventually led her to write creatively as a career. In other words, she if it wasn't for Riad, Eva probably would have never becoming a writer - she would still be tied to the rock.

I will also prove that Huberto Naranjo, played an important role in Eva’s sexual awakening, which ultimately shaped her as a woman.

Huberto Naranjo, just like Riad encouraged Eva’s education, but unlike Riad, he did not succeed at said task. Nevertheless, he shaped her differently - he awakened in her something she had never felt with Riad or Kamal. He awakened the deepest sexual desires she held inside her. Previously, Naranjo had always been a hero-like figure to Eva, due to all the times he saved her. When they first met, and she ran away from the “patrona’s” house, she saw him as someone that could protect her in a world unknown to her. In this scenario, Naranjo would be the hero from across the sea that saves her in a moment of despair, when she has nowhere to go. Also, the streets would be the wasteland, and the “madrina” the impotent king that exposes her to the sea monster which would be the “patrona”. That image of Naranjo stuck with Eva throughout her life, after all, he had been her “childhood hero and the protagonist of [her] first amourous fantasies” (Allende, 249). A couple of years after Eva left Agua Santa, Eva was distraught with the memory of Riad Habali and was troubled by her active romantic affection towards him. However, when she reunited with Naranjo, she was swept away by the new feelings that she started to have feelings towards him. In fact, when they met, Eva says that she “felt a longuid warmth in my knees, and my heart was pounding; a long

forgotten passion suddenly swept over me” (Allende, 250). Feelings of desire and longing were replaced by Naranjo’s touch, but also feelings of affection and the memory of who had always been her hero and main romantic interest of her stories. In this case, the sea monster would be her memories and longing of the prohibited love that she felt towards Riad. No matter how many dates she went on, no man could take him out of her head, or in other words, no man could untie her from the rock she tied herself to. Until one day a hero from a remote place, Naranjo, came into her life and took Habali’s place in Eva’s heart - he liberated her from the strings of forbidden love. Naranjo influenced her and changed her view on intimate relationships by coming into her life “with something heroic, something terrible” (Allende, 259). The romance with Naranjo allowed her to discover herself as a woman and step outside of conventional sexual relations. For instance, because Naranjo disguised himself in different ways each time he met with Eva, it allowed her to imagine that she “had several lovers at the same time” (Allende, 260) . This shows how Naranjo influenced her womanhood, by being the inspiration to her fantasies, allowing her to see sex in a different light; instead of it being an almost rigid and intimate action, it became passionate and exciting.

Finally, I will also prove that the Lieutenant played the aggressive “macho” role when he incarcerated her, which ultimately influenced her and shaped her to become a brave and strong-willed woman, that stands up for herself. Despite knowing Eva quite well, and even had played dominos with her before at the “Pearl of the Orient”, he is quick to assume that Eva was Zulema’s murderer. To Eva and the majority of the people in the village, especially the school teacher Ines, it seemed like an absurd idea that Eva killed her mother-like figure. Even so, sure of his decision, he brusquely takes Eva to the police station. There she is treated poorly- she is stripped of her clothes, water, and human tact.
In terms of “hero from across the sea”, the Lieutenant would be the sea monster holding her captive. Eva would naturally be the princess tied to the rock, and Riad Habali once again would be the hero from across the sea that saves her from further torture and murder incrimination. In the cell, he inflicts physical violence and treats her in a non-human way.
Later on in her life when she is faced with the situation of the guerrilla soldiers trapped in the Santa Maria prison, she decides to help the guerrilla movement despite Mimi’s warning and her own. In fact, she states that she “believed that the guerrilla movement would never triumph in [her] country” (Allende, 315), meaning that even though she did not believe in the movement's success, she was so tremendously inspired by Naranjo’s words that she decided to take the risk of helping them. When Eva was imprisoned by the Lieutenant, someone whom she shared memories with and someone whom she trusted to protect her abused his power to torture her, it diminished her belief in the law enforcement system. Eva stopped believing in the legitimacy and true mission of police officers, the military and perhaps the government and how they entrust these figures to abuse of their power. As a result of this gained view on these figures, due to the way the Lieutenant treated her, she was more inclined to participate in the guerrilla’s mission. Also, because she managed to escape from the sea monster that time, she gained confidence in herself and an unexpected bravery; she wanted to “test [her]self” (Allende, 314), meaning that she wanted to prove to her teenage self that she can stand up against those man in uniform.

To conclude, these three men in Eva’s life, Riad Habali, Humberto Naranjo and the Lieutenant, shaped her to become herself.

Riad Habali serving as the “hero from across the sea”, taught her the importance of education and its benefits, so she could, later on, become a free educated woman and a writer. She saved her from both poverty and illiteracy and gave her a pathway to learning the basics of reading and writing, which were skills that she took all through the journey. Huberto Naranjo also served as a “hero from across the sea”, allowing her to forget about her unnatural passion towards Riad and direct it towards him instead; he awakened her sexually and open her eyes to a healthier and more exciting relationship. Finally, the Lieutenant, as the “sea monster” opened her eyes to the injustice and the overuse of authority from some men in inform, making her want to participate in the guerilla's mission, to prove her gained bravery from the time he tortured her. Overall, all of the masculine figures, inspired and shaped the woman that is Eva

Luna.