Analysis of The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende Essay

After being accused of being possessed by the devil and visited by her Uncle Marco’s dead body, Clare del Valle began to keep a diary. Fifty years later, her journal was used to solve the puzzle of a family history. In The House of Spirits, Isabel Allende tells the story of many generations of a family in Latin America. There are three prominent themes in The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. First, the social divide between those who are â€Å"civilized† and those who are supposed barbarians. Second, the influence of women and their role in society. Third, the clash between social classes. The first major theme in The House of Spirits is the division between civilization and savagery. The country in which the story takes place remains†¦show more content†¦Every woman in The House of Spirits is a protagonist, who each work in different ways to protect their rights. Alba, Clara, and Blanca remain the focus of the story, while the men enter through means of love and marriage. The major events that dominate the story are experiences central to these women, including childbirth, sexual and physical violence, and abortion. Besides Nivea’s devotion to female suffrage, the women rarely condemn gender inequality for their struggles. Each woman’s life is, however, scarred by this. The women in The House of the Spirits are strong women who do not submit to mistreatment. The women affect more permanent and extreme changes than any of the men implement. For example, the men lead revolutions that temporarily collapsed the government, and soon after those revo lutions failed. The women have more exquisite methods. By teaching people to read and to write and to practice health care, by setting curses, and by refusing to speak aloud increases productivity in implementing long-lasting change in society. For example, when Clara’s husband, Esteban, abuses her, she stops speaking to him. She then restores her maiden name, and moves out of Tres Marà ­as and back to the city, with her daughter Blanca. However, she preserves a civil relationship with him until her demise. Acting out violently against Esteban may have been effective temporarily, but not speaking to him enforced a permanent change in theirShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of the House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende1608 Words   |  7 PagesIn the book Isabel Allende experiments with various literary devices. The many different narrative voices used in this book allow the reader to understand the book from dissimilar perspectives. As the story unfolds, one can see the symbolism th at occurs in many of the events. The story revolves around the different generations of the Del Valle family. Symbolism is used as a literary device in this book to apply ideas and images to explain something in particular. 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