Feminism

Isabel Allende‘s The House of the Spirits holds within it some very strong and independent women who embody the ideas of feminism and spirituality. Although these female characters are certainly women of strength, they still find themselves oppressed and ridiculed to an extent by the men in their society. The men in the society view the women as the house keepers. They are in fixed roles which include doing the cooking, cleaning, giving birth and serving as means of sexual release for the men. Esteban Trueba (Clara’s husband), is the embodiment of the sexism most of the women in the society face. He develops a knack for raping the young girls in Tres Marias and the neighbouring towns. As a result of his inhumane acts, he leaves a trail of children, whom he refuses to claim, in his wake. While the women possess spiritual powers, the men possess the physical powers (Includes but are not limited to, economic power, political power and freedom). Unlike the women who use their powers for good, the men in the novel exploit their power. For example, Nivea used her wealth and social standing as a means to help the poor and fight for women’s rights unlike Esteban who used the power he had in society to get what he want, bully his workers and do things in his favour. It is obvious through Allende’s writing and the characterisation of both the men and women in the book that there are gender roles set in place. Unfortunately, the gender roles force the women to conform to certain norms set in place by their situation and by society. Ferula (Esteban’s sister) for instance, finds herself an old maid as a result of years of devoting her life to Esteban and her mother when she fell ill. Esteban on the other hand had little to no obligations when it came to taking care of his mother because he was not born a female. The sexism is not only displayed through the character’s actions and interactions, it is also displayed through the almost set roles that looms over them. It seems as if the idea of women standing on equal footing as men is a joke, and it definately is to some men and women alike in the novel. The sad truth is that most of the women (refer to chapter four) had already resigned to the gender roles set in place for them. Women like Nivea, Clara and Blanca on the other hand knew what had to be done for change to happen and were more than willing to be a part of the revolution that would lead to equality and the liberation of women.