Quote Journal for House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende Essays

In analyzing portrayals of women, it is appropriate to begin with the character of Margarita. For, within the text, she embodies the traditionally masculine traits of bravery, resilience, and violence as a means of liberating herself from an existence of abuse and victimhood. Even more, the woman plays upon stereotypes of femininity in order to mask her true nature. The reader witnesses this clever deception in a scene where the character endures a “wholesome thrashing” from her huge, violent, and grizzly bear-like husband, Guerra (81). Although Margarita “[submits] to the infliction with great apparent humility,” her husband is found “stone-dead” the next morning (81). Here, diction such as “submits” and “humility” relate to the traits of weakness, subservience and inferiority that are so commonly expected of women, especially in their relationships with men. Yet, when one

She compares the few tasks that civilized women are able to perform with the wide variety of tasks that men routinely perform in order to illustrate how little autonomy the modern woman has. For instance, while a male soldier can “march and counter-march” and manipulate the senate to work for them, women do not have any of these opportunities. Men have so much more power; they govern everything that goes on outside the house, and have a lot more freedom in what they do. Even in a relationship, the man is “responsible” and the women is reduced to a “cypher,” she claims. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for a woman to get a job that pays enough so she can be financially independent of her husband;

Language: In On the Equality of the Sexes, there are a few phrases that seem to show some importance. “There is something new under the sun” is italicized in the text. She is saying that there is going to be some change coming soon with women’s education. She also uses the word superior, or superiority, quite a bit in the text. She questions whether or not mental superiority between sexes actually exists. She also talks about imagination a lot. She makes the point that society constricts how women use their imaginations. The way she uses domestication in the text is in a negative way. She uses the phrase “fertile brain of a female” and by doing this she is trying to show that females’ brains are productive and capable of becoming so much

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.

Martirio once had a man interested in her but that opportunity was snatched away from her by Bernarda. On page 191 Poncia says, “Martirio is lovesick, I don't care what you say. Why didn't you let her marry enrique Humanas? Why, on the very day he was coming to her window did you send him a message not to come? And Bernarda responded, “... My blood won’t mingle with the Humanas’ while I live!” This is an example of how different Martirio’s circumstances were from Adela and Angustias. Martirio was repressed from her desire for freedom from her mother and became jealous when her sister’s were not denied in the same way. These two themes lead the characters to believe that escaping one prison will make them free, only to be confined to another. This is the situation the women in the play recognize as a inner conflict. An example of this is on page 169 when Amelia says, “These days a girl doesn't know whether to have a beau or not.” Additionally, On page 208 Adela says, “ I can't stand this horrible house after the taste of his mouth. I’ll be what he wants me to be.” This quote shows how the girls view men as an escape from their sheltered home. Men represent freedom as well as repression. For Example, On page 169 it says “... Her sweetheart doesn't let her go out even to the front doorstep.” This shows us that Bernarda’s daughters realize if they stay at home forever, they will be controlled by their mother,

Isabels short story, “An Act of Vengeance” is an example of the power she depicts towards women along with her foundation, “The Isabel Allende Foundation” which she states, “Empowers women and girls worldwide”. In her text, in which a young teen’s father is killed by the same man who raped her and took away dignity and reason for living building up hate towards him. The irony is as Allende states, “She searched her heart for the hatred she had cultivated throughout those thirty years, but she was incapable of finding...Then she understood with horror that by thinking about him every moment, and savoring his punishment in advance, her feelings had become reversed and she had fallen in love with him”(Allende#1). The hatred and punishment she wanted to give him for what he did turned into an unstoppable love. Isabel Allende is a strong feminist and it can be seen throughout her writing, reason for this is her personal experiences, causing it to change the way she refers when writing about the opposite sex.

The analysis will cover three aspects. First of all, in her book, Jane Austen expresses the view that both genders possess equal creative and intellectual qualities, and thus women are born to be equal to men. Second, she expresses her skepticism towards the degree of rationality and justice of the common social norms about female behavior. The third aspect is that Austen also insists that women should act for themselves in a rational way rather than merely trying to impress or to please the other sex.

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.

The notion that women belong to men, is a statement indicative of a female’s vulnerability. At many times within the novel, the idea that women are weak and feeble creatures is portrayed,

that he only did it to get revenge for what her grandfather did to his

While he waits “at a traffic light,” he “catches his eye [on] a tall girl in a black leather skirt” (Coetzee 194). She is mere stranger on the road, yet he is confident in being able to immediately hook up with her. The way he looks at women, reflects how they are displayed as animals and sexual bodies waiting for someone to catch them and because this occurs frequently, the idea of female bodies being dominated and constructed through male ideology becomes naturalized and accepted as a norm in society. It is evident that though all women do not become prostitutes because they enjoy the idea of it, there is this acceptance of the gender binary, where women choose to transform themselves into this sexualized character that seeks attention and is submissive to the man. Monique Wittig highlights the idea of categories in her text, “One is Not Born a Woman.” She agrees with Coetzee’s representation of the male and female roles and says that “for “woman” does not exist for [them]: it is only an imaginary formation” created by men (Wittig 15). Wittig explains that the category of “women” goes beyond the biological genes and outer appearance. It is something that is created not to make women feel good about themselves or to give them certain types of privileges, but it is a socially constructed idea that subject’s women into a certain type of character that benefits men. She goes on to say that “Once the class “men” disappears, “woman” as a class will disappear as well, for there are no slaves without masters” (Wittig 15). Consequently, the class of “women” is created in response to “men,” where if the category of “men” did not exist, then women would not be so restricted in the things that they are allowed to do and they would not have to live a life trying to satisfy men in order to

All of the women in the novel share one thing that all of them are independent and they don’t let the men take control over them. That life is more important than class and social status. In going against the patriarchy of the society and defying the men in their lives shows that there is a really strong bond between the women in the novel. Clara is a good example to show how independent and strong the women in the story are. She’s always mistreated by her husband Esteban.

In many novels, relationships shape a character. Throughout Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits dissimilar individuals constantly come together to form relationships that change or develop their disposition. While Allende uses relationships to build upon a character, she also depicts a character's living environment in order to confirm their true soul and lifestyle. Due to the observation of both relationships and environments, a character's true qualities are expressed to a reader. The relationship between two individuals, Ferula and Clara, proves itself a positive product of the union of differing people. Through analysis of Ferula's home and close observation of her bond with Clara,

From a feminist critical perspective, it is clear to perceive that her husband’s death was a release of freedom from her marriage. The text describes that at times, she did and did not love her husband. However, love had not mattered anymore because she was now free. Whether they loved each other or not, she would have still been his property. This restriction of freedom was no longer her cross to bear. The death of her husband would pave her a path for a new life.

Lastly, “femininity” refers to behavioural activities or interests that are assigned to the female sex, such as cleaning and cooking (Beauvoir, 617). Although many critics have read her text and become confused due to her stylistic choice to fuse her voice with the voices of famous men, it can be said that the text ultimately leads the reader to begin to question what society sees as a woman (Zerilli, 1-2). Despite Beauvoir’s The Second Sex appearing to recognize the oppression of women throughout the world without giving an actual solution, I will argue that Beauvoir’s evaluation of each “natural” aspect of female oppression allows readers to recognize that the only thing holding themselves back as a woman is society’s unnatural definition of their body, relation to men, and personal freedoms. Of course, when it comes to one's freedom, it is difficult to obtain when your body feels like a