From Isabell Allende`s book `The House of The Spirits` women are considered 2nd class citizens, but how do they overcome it on the novel

The Women in The House of the Spirits

by

Isabel Allende

2006

The Women in The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

The leading women characters in The House of the Spirits are not doormats . They are all strong and stubborn with their own unique feminine characteristics . To effect change they rely on their strong minds , inner fortitude , spiritual strength and true character in weaving their own stories . Although the story is set in a patriarchal society where women occupies a status below that of men , the women are

as powerful in their own unique way , if not more , as the men . According to Isabel Allende herself , I chose extraordinary women who could symbolize my vision of what is meant by feminine , characters who could illustrate the destinies of women in Latin America ( Conversations

Clara del Valle , whose name suggests as white ' or clear , is the youngest of the del Valle family and eventually the matriarch of the Trueba family . She is gifted with paranormal powers such as the ability to move and see things ( House of the Spirits . She is the epitome of the woman for whom life is process , and her ability to speak to the spirits and to see the future shows that process is the meaning in her life ( Review of

In defying her husband , Esteban Trueba , silent rebellion is her weapon At first , silence is initially and typically seen as a sign of submission by men . But Clara effectively uses it as a barrier from which not even her stern husband could break

Clara envelopes herself in her perceived guilt over the death of her sister Rosa with nine years of silence . She is baffling to the men because of her mystical powers . She foretells and shapes the destiny of her sister Rosa and of the Trueba family ( The House of the Spirits .This early tendency of a self-imposed retreat to her own world further sharpens her gift of clairvoyance . When she marries Esteban Trueba he sees her as an ideal wife conforming to his own image of women to be submissive and having no participation in the traditional affairs of men such as politics and business (Colon Mother-Daughter Relationships . But in a patriarchal society men want to possess their women completely in to wield authority over them . In breaking this tradition Clara 's defeaning silence exasperates Esteban Trueba . Apart form being unreachable and aloof , her silence makes her self-sufficient , and men such as Trueba could not fathom this any longer . He is devoid of control over his wife . Her silence makes her independent of her husband which further annoys and disgusts him . In a way , she wields power over her husband and the household by just being mute

She also inherits her mother Nieva 's feminist ideas when she teaches women in Tres Marias about basic education , nutrition , gender equality although the women quite do not agree with Clara with the latter . When Esteban finds out about her activities she sees his...