The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

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In the novel The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende the epilogue is a conclusion to all that has happening in the novel. In the novel ‘The House of the Spirits’ by Isabel Allende the epilogue is a conclusion to all that has happening in the novel. In demonstrates the overall themes of recurring cycles throughout the lives of the characters, and also of the importance of the past and memories. The cycles run throughout the book, but in the epilogue we see how they are beginning to be broken and new cycles are being formed. The tone of the final chapter is both hopeful and cheerful at the beginning, and melancholic almost to depression by the end. The symbol of the old house on the corner is powerfully portrayed in this final chapter, representing both Clara’s presence and spirituality, but also Esteban’s fading wealth and power. Magical realism is used to help distort the distinction between reality and fiction. Finally we see the growth of the central character of this chapter, and the narrators of the book, Alba and Esteban. In the epilogue of the novel, Alba has returned from being held in a concentration camp. She and her grandfather Esteban Trueba restore the old house on the corner. Esteban dies peacefully in Alba’s arms Alba is revealed to be pregnant and she begins to read her grandmother Clara’s diaries and her mother Blanca’s letters and begin to piece together the story the was just told. The one of the main themes in the epilogue, and in the entire novel is that of cycles, history repeating itself and fate. Alba has become pregnant, and is renewing the cycle by continuing life, making the end of the story the beginning of another one, the tale of her daughter. It also tells how the n... ... middle of paper ... ...y grandfather when he was young and stood six feet tall, irrefutable proof that Ferula’s curse came true and that his body shrank in the same proportions as his soul.’ To conclude, in the epilogue of the novel ‘The House of the Spirits’ we see finish to two of the major themes of the novel, memories and cycles. The tone of the chapter is a fitting ending, as it is both optimistic but at the same time cheerless about the events of the past. We observe an example of the magical realism used throughout the novel, the better show the involvement of spiritual aspects in the characters, especially Clara’s, lives. The house on the corner, a strong symbol through the novel has been restored, emphasizing the cycles seen in the novel. And finally, the characters have developed to a stage where they have become whole and are ready to begin new cycles of their own.

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