Isabel Allende's The House Of The Spirits

In this essay, female oppression in La Casa de Bernarda Alba will be discussed and analyzed. However, in order to be able to understand the importance of this theme and the impact it has had on the play, one must first understand the role of female oppression in the Spanish society in the 1930s.

Esperanza as a child takes the responsibility to fight for all the women who suffer from men discrimination, because in “Mango Street” mostly women are abandoned and the others dominated by their husband, Esperanza takes the responsibility to invite all the women to organize themselves in order to protect each other from men violence. Esperanza consider herself as the one who can liberate those women such as Minerva, a young woman who have already two children and abandoned by her husband, there is also Rafaela held indoors the house by her husband and she spends all her time in the windowsill to watch what is happen outside and many other women who undergo sufferings caused by their men, that is what characterized her commitment for the liberation of the women of her neighborhood. So as the girl, Esperanza carry the burden to deliver all women in “Mango Street” from all pains and she feels she is the right one who capable to let know her neighbors’

The book’s main appeal and power is the author's use of Estrella, who serves as the focal point of all the large issues. In one particular scene, we see Estrella playing with one a naked doll. Estrella asks the naked doll if she was okay and then shook the doll's head “No”. This conversation with the doll can be seen as the sense of denial that takes place in a child’s mind that is not allowed to openly express herself, her fears, her anxieties, and her hopes. She allows the doll to represent her honest feelings about the lifestyle of living she is placed in. She is a unique and interesting individual, who will not grow up to be knocked down by economic issues, difficult labor, and especially men.

In her novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez unfolds a dramatic character transformation of the Mirabal sister, Maria Teresa. She is detailed to be a very thoughtful character who always seem to look out for others, especially those important to her in life. Alvarez induces this empowering development of Maria Teresa through the usage of diction, point of view and selection of detail.

For decades Minerva, Maria Teresa, Patria and Dede’s bravery and heroism have lived in the heart of many Dominicans who suffered from the ruthless dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. The Mirabal sisters were four brave women who defied the traditional role of women in their Era and had a major role during revolution against Trujillo. Much of their story has been told in books and in movies from many different accounts. In Julia Alvarez’s novel “In the Time of the Butterflies”, she writes fictionalized personal accounts of the Mirabal sisters. Julia Alvarez structures her Novel in three parts with each chapter having a first person narrative for each sister. Alvarez personalized the way each of them would speak, feel and think, to even structuring Maria Teresa parts in the Novel as journal entries. This paper is an attempt to analyze how the structure of Julia Alvarez’s novel “In the Time of the Butterflies” can give the reader a better understanding of the Mirabal sisters, while utilizing Manuel F. Medina’s “Writing From Memory: History, Stories And Narrative Voices In In The time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez”.

To begin, Dede’s ability to support and stay in contact with her sisters without getting too involved with the dangers of the government allow her to stay safe, as well as tell accurate stories from the time of Trujillo’s reign. Through all the struggles her sisters undergo, Dede still supports and cares for them. Even after her sisters are freed from jail, Dede still finds herself in the habit “of staying over the nights before our visits. She said she had to be at Mama’s early the next day anyhow to help with all of the children once we left”

Esteban keeps pleading to Clara for her love and she always refuses, and Esteban is too afraid to strike or use force on his wife. In these times, wives were never allowed to disrespect their husbands, but Clara does this often, appearing to be able to read minds, she knows that Esteban raped peasants and uses it against him when she feels threatened by him. She also disrespects him by bolting her door and not speaking to him, while most husbands would punish their wives, Esteban can only sadden and dream about the old days. Clara has so much control over Esteban that, instead of pink slips, he pays his peasants with real money just to make her happy. On the other side of Esteban’s power, the people of Tres Marias fear Esteban so much that they don’t care about their rights to vote.

In the fabricated novel In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, the author illuminates details of a revolution and the family of the Mirabal sisters. Alvarez’s fictionalized account of the Dominican Republic’s revolution and the Mirabal’s personal lives paints us a vivid image of the events during Trujillo’s dictatorship. We get personally touched by each of the characters in the novel, but Minerva Mirabal, the third sister, stands out with a true heart and spirit of the resistance. Minerva Mirabal has the strongest mind set apart from her sisters and gets greatly invested in the revolution. Her association with the rebel cause highlights the list of the events the sisters endure during their lives. Minerva’s personality is

Clara married Esteban Trueba, a man who was harsh, quick to react. During the patriarchal society, women were a man’s possession. They had few rights and were exploited and sometimes rejected by men (Metzger). Clara doesn’t put up with disrespect from any man and when her husband, Esteban, hits her during a fight, Clara never speak a word to him again (Allende 223). With this act of cruelty on his part it allowed Clara to escape to her own world of solitude, a spiritual world where Esteban cannot follow her. This world is without rules, without structure, no subordinate to men, no patriarchy, no boundaries (Metzger). These is a gift Clara can give to her daughter, Blanca.

Rafael Trujillo, a Dominican dictator, developed a harsh reputation as being one of the most violent and domineering leaders of South America in his thirty-one years of power. In The Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez provides insight into the effects of Trujillo’s infamy by sharing the stories of three Dominican sisters and their struggles to gain independence and speak their truth. The Dominican-American author dramatizes the lives of the Mirabal sisters, three historical women who were assassinated in 1961, for their involvement in the anti-Trujillo movement. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, a Cuban critic of Latin American literature, provides a bias insight with regards to the novel.

Julia Alvarez also uses language to show how the four Garcia girls adjust to living in a new, and to them alien, culture. The protagonist in this novel is the family Garcia de la Torre, a wealthy, aristocratic family from the Santo Domingo, who can trace their genealogy back to the Spanish

She becomes pregnant and gives birth to Alba, who is the final leg of race. With Alba, Esteban finally comes to understand that he cannot control them and that is it possible for Alba to live life the same way a man would. He has lost. The three generation of women show the power of women, they all work in different and subtle ways to assert their

In The House of Spirits, a magical realist novel written by Isabel Allende, various themes are introduced throughout the text. One major theme brought to the reader’s attention is anger/hatred and retribution. Another major theme that captures the reader’s attention is violence and suffering. These two themes showcase themselves amongst different characters and in different ways. Anger, hatred, retribution, violence, and suffering all correspond with each other throughout the text to show how characters deal with adversity.

The acts of feminism are demonstrated through the typical characteristics of a woman in the Mexican revolution, the females tend towards the male characters to satisfy their male desire and to control and calm themselves, and the family values that suppress the woman’s achievement. In the era of Mexican Revolution, the society believed that women should do all the chores of the house, especially cooking. Females were not able to raise their voice and provide their judgment. Women in this book are portrayed as they are dependent on men and do not possess confidence. Although women are considered weak, they are being oppressed and disrespected by the tradition that is being followed. Female characters in this novel exemplify the women in the society who are restricted because they were born women. Therefore, as stated by Louisa May Alcott, women in the society shouldn’t oppress and create boundaries for themselves, but should act steadily towards achieving their goal of freedom and women’s rights over the

The character who represents men is Esteban Trueba. After the love of his life dies, Esteban moves to a village where he grew up. He begins to enrich the city and becomes the dictator. Throughout his time as a Dictator, Esteban rapes young women and keeps some as his maids. He does this for the feeling of empowerment. All the civilians of the village are afraid of Esteban. He holds grudges and is violent towards the people who defy him. Although Esteban and Clara have children, it does not stop him from being violent. They have one girl named Blanca and two boys. Besides Clara’s three generations in the book, there is Pedro Garcia’s generation. Pedro Garcia is a trustful peasant of Esteban also called Patron. The Pedro family is compliant with Esteban. Even though Pedro Segundo son of Pedro Garcia, remains faithful to Esteban. When Esteban