Marjorie Baumgarten calls “Volver” Almodovar’s “….ode of love to women’s congress and fortitude…”. The same could also be said of Allende and her work; both of these pieces are celebrations of women’s innate strength. Take, for instance, the protagonists of each work. While both women, personality wise, are very different, one main similarity that they share is their fortitude. Although expressed in different ways, neither women allows any outside obstacles- in this case, men- to deter them from living their lives. Clara refuses to be affected by her husband’s oppression: in her own detached manner, she simply ignores Esteban’s demands and continues as she pleases. When her husband knocks some of her teeth out, Clara doesn’t end up submitting to his rage, and instead carries on with her life as if her were not there. Then there is Raimunda, who embraces her problems head on, refusing to let them side track her from living her life. Raimunda literally stuffs her husband’s dead body in a meat freezer, then turns around and cooks a meal for thirty people without batting an eye over the fact that there is a corpse in the kitchen with her. These women demonstrate incredible resilience; no matter how bad it gets for them, they keep on pushing through. Their strength is remarkable, and not just in the vastly different ways that they show it, but especially when one considers what exactly they are up against.
The main male characters in both the novel and the film exhibit the same entitled attitude- demanding, and self serving, their main goal in life is to satisfy themselves. From the parts in The House of the Spirits where Esteban takes over as the narrator, we can see his immaturity and his selfishness, as he refuses to accept that he has destroyed the lives of countless of people around him. In “Volver”, when Paco tries to rape Paula, he tells her not to worry, that it’s all okay, that he’s not really her father. Almost as shocking as what he tries to do to her is the fact that he actually says that it’s okay; of course, though, it is all okay to Paco, because this is exactly what he wants.
What is perhaps the most interesting about these male characters is their presence in each work- in The House of the Spirits, the men, particularly Esteban, are so forcefully present that it’s almost oppressive. He demands the attention of not just the other characters, but of the reader as well. In “Volver”, Paco is killed barely five minutes after we are introduced to him. His screen time is severely limited- however, this does not diminish the effect he has on the characters, and even the plot line in general. From the obvious problems he presents Raimunda, such has how to discretely dispose of his body, Paco’s presence, or lack of, brings other issues to light. In fact, Paco’s death is set in stark contrast with all that eventually becomes revealed over the course of the film, like for instance, the truth surrounding Paula’s birth, something eerily parallel to what almost happens between Paco and Paula. With Paco’s death, long buried mysteries are brought to life.
All things considered, when we think about the fact that both of these works focus on the hardships women had to face in these cultural time periods, it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to view these men as plot devices used by the creators’ to further develop their female characters. Like Peter Travers wrote “Plot is merely Almodovar’s way into the souls of his women…..”. In this way we can see the male characters in both works as tools to help readers further understand the women in these pieces: their strength, their weaknesses, and how they grow in the face of such obstacles.
Magical realism is something that is deeply integrated into the world of both works. Take Pan’s Labyrinth for instance- there was a certain air of awe and disbelief surrounding the whole magical events of the movie. It was portrayed as something very separate and distinct from the harsh reality of the outside world. This is in direct contrast to Allende’s and Almodovar’s pieces- everything comes together seamlessly, as if the magical events in these worlds are just a natural way of life. In Allende’s novel, all this is normal: children predicting earthquakes, salt shakers that move on their own and such. Magic is a part of everyday life in this novel, and even Esteban has come to see it as something natural.
Then there is “Volver”, where some might argue that there is a distinct lack of magical realism owing to the fact that in the end we realize that there is no ghost- just the townspeople running away with their imaginations. However, the whole world of the movie itself is steeped in an otherworldly quality. The scene where Raimunda is cleaning up her husband’s dead body especially illuminates this concept. In this scene there is a distinct detachment from the real world: the gruesome task is set in stark contrast with the bright, happy colors in the scene, and the efficiency with which Raimunda cleans up his body has the heavy implication of monotony- almost has if this was another meal to clean up after, something she has done countless times before.
Reviews Cited
Travis, Peter. “Volver.” Rolling Stone
Baumgarten, Marjorie. “Volver.” The Austin Chronicle
