Two Hundred Years of Solitude

Both Volver and House of the Spirits share many common imagery, themes, and plotlines during the course of the two journeys.  Both pieces are filled with fantastic elements that mostly go unnoticed in regular society. The movement of female empowerment is widely-seen in both the House of the Spirits and Volver, and many of the same issues arise.

Throughout the movie, Volver, the female characters all radiate a strong conviction to enduring the struggles they all had to face within their individual lives. Raimunda, who was molested by her father, relives her past when her own daughter (and later we find out is also her sister) is put into the similar situation. Compared to House of the Spirits, the movie as a whole conveys the ideology of female empowerment and commitment to enduring the reality surrounding them. Just as Clara and Blanca possess special powers that allow them to in some sense protect themselves from the outside world, Raimunda and Sole have the ghost of their mother as a comforting entity guiding them throughout their life.

As for the male counterparts in the story, both stories share the similarity of surrounding these women with awful and irrational men who start and or add to their already problematic lives. Paco, a drunk who has an obsession with sex, ends up trying to molest and push himself onto his step-daughter, Paula. Fortunately, the confrontation ends with a knife in his gut. This confrontation also leads to Raimunda getting access to the restaurant. Irene’s husband ended up having an affair with Agustina’s mother, and Irene ends up burning their house down after finding out that Raimunda was also molested and pregnant. The affair is ended when they both burn to death in the flames. On the other hand, Emilio was perhaps the only decent man in a cast made up of mostly women. He was honorable and well-spoken when Raimunda confesses to using the restaurant without his permission, but ultimately gives in to letting her continue to use it.

Both stories convey magical realism as a defense mechanism to protect the characters from their terrible circumstances. In House of the Spirits, many of the main female characters possess some kind of special power they use to interact with the world around them. Clara and Blanca in particular claim telepathic powers in order to see the future and change accordingly. In Volver, the presence of Irene gives the girls a sense of motherly protection they thought they lost. They become more unified in the face of the unknown, and are more capable to fix themselves.

Reviews:
1. Volver. Rolling Stone. 7 September, 2016. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/volver-20061102

2. Volver Review. Rotten Tomatoes. 7 September, 2016. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/volver/

Allende’s novel, House of the Spirits and Almodovar’s production, Volver, are strikingly similar in a variety of ways. To begin simply, both works take place in “traditional, patriarchal, gender-separated (and fascist) Spain,” setting the scene for a rarely viewed look into the lives of the female characters. House of the Spirits and Volver are both almost revolutionary in that they focus on the relationship between men and women as well as issues specific to women only- issues that spurred shame in the hearts of many women prior to recent times and were rarely written about or God forbid talked about.

The husband/wife dynamics between Clara and Esteban are reminiscent of those of Raimunda and Paco. For Clara and Raimunda, “men…tend to be malevolent, irrelevant or simply absent” and of lesser priority than connecting with the supernatural or in Raimunda’s case, keeping house or working a day job. On the opposite side of things, the male characters share habits as well. For example, Esteban and Paco are two sexually frustrated individuals who as a result, harbor an interest in preying on young girls- please excuse me while I vomit. These two works do not place much emphasis on the male gender. However, when the men are depicted, it is a rather disturbing and somewhat alarming depiction.

In chapter five of House of the Spirits, Allende goes into depth about Blanca during puberty and the inevitable menstrual cycle. This is significant as historically, menstruation was not a topic of conversation or much less a topic found in a piece of literature. Likewise, Almodovar makes a “startlingly risqué joke” when Raimunda is asked about Paco’s blood on her neck claiming it was “women’s problems”. These two examples are not only comical but help bring attention to what was once an uncomfortable subject for some.

SFGate

By Stein – http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Leave-it-to-Mama-to-clean-up-the-mess-2484510.php

The New York Times

A. Scott – http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/movies/03volv.html?_r=0

What’s up it’s ya boy Andrew coming at cha with another blog post. That’s right, Im back! The House of the Spirits is fantastic, it shows us, the readers a perspective of suffrage, poor vs. wealth, and power/corruption. These are just an handful of the themes throughout the start of the book. What has grasped my attention the most is how much money and power corrupted Esteban’s good nature so to speak. This is such a relatable thing in today’s society because everything now-a-days is about getting rich. I say to hell with that, money doesn’t buy you happiness, if it does, its merely temporary. Back to Esteban, the wealth corrupts the good, kind-hearted intentions he had for Rosa before she died. The book really shows us the power struggle he has which leads him to his crude actions towards others. In chapter 3 page 107, the text states, “Clara’s impudent and nonchalant sensuality was also not enough for him. He wanted far more than her body; he wanted control over that undefined and luminous material that lay within her and escaped him even in those moments when she appeared to be dying of pleasure. His hands felt very heavy, his feet very big, his voice very hard, his beard very scratchy, and his habits of rape and whoring very deeply ingrained, but even if he had to turn himself inside out like a glove, he was prepared to do everything in his power to seduce her.” (pg. 107-108). This shows us how much he has changed, from his habits to his personality, a good man turned rotten. He lets his desires control his thoughts and actions and becomes greedy. However, I believe that the “good” Esteban is in him at heart and we see this partially through the next chapter. All in all we are exposed to the reality of the desires of the world that all of us face in everyday life. While these desires may not be similar to Esteban’s (because he is in some deep sh*t if I may say), not to be cliche, but money is the root of all evil. Thanks for tuning in.

The House of the Spirits is a novel filled with fantastic elements to criticize social and political issues during that time. Isabel Allende uses this novel as her outlet to express her frustrations with society. There is a significant divide between males and females in this novel along with other themes. Women are supposed to be submissive and obedient, but the women in this novel are actually quite the opposite. They are strong, but also gentle at the same time.

Clara along with the women in her family have an open mind and greater understanding of social issues. Simply helping the poor is not enough they need more than just that. They need justice this is something Esteban does not agree with. He believes in so called equality but does nothing to offer it to his workers. He cheats on Clara with Transito Soto, but if Clara were to find out she would probably be more upset about the fact that he is using women instead of the infidelity. Blanca who is Clara’s daughter is flourishing into a young woman and although in appearance she favors the Trueba her mindset is like her mother’s.

Blanca and Pedro have an interesting relationship. They are in the awkward in-between age of childhood and adolescence. She is still very much like a child in many ways because she doesn’t comprehend the reality of her and Pedro Tercera’s situation. She doesn’t see that they can never be together because of their social status positions. She’s naive in the sense that she isn’t aware of the divide between her and Pedro, but he is. He knows that they will never marry like she says they will because they aren’t in the same class. Esteban can not stand Pedro Tercera because of his “communist” beliefs. He keeps a close eye on him so he will stop putting these foolish ideas in the workers heads.

This novel brings to light these societal issues in a manner that both draws in the reader and creates relatable characters. The added spiritual powers allow these women to have some control in their lives. They use these abilities in their favor to prepare themselves for what awaits them. Women in this time are being oppressed and belittled this gives them the upper hand in a way. Esteban sees it as nonsense and doesn’t believe in it. Esteban especially is a temperamental person who can easily be angered. Clara and him have a unique contrast because of the nature of their characters. Clara is nonchalant and doesn’t feed into his tantrums which deescalates the situations. He is this alpha male who has fallen at the feet of this woman who at times keeps him at bay except when she contradicts his beliefs. Even then he doesn’t treat her as he treats everyone else she has a hold over him. All of these characteristics complement and criticize the injustices that were taking place not only just in the novel, but also in the author’s life.

In Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits, the main character, Clara, possesses special powers. She can predict deaths, earthquakes, and converse with spirits. This remains a fundamental aspect of the novel, but Clara is not the sole person with these abilities. Although Clara befriends others like herself, such as the Mora sisters, there are additional characters with similar intelligence. In chapter one Uncle Marcos is described as believing “that all human beings [possess] this ability… and that if it did not function well it was simply due to a lack of training,” (17).

Later when the Tres Marías becomes invaded by raging ants unaffected by pesticides, Esteban hires a gringo who identifies “the species, its lifestyle… and even its most secret desire,” (123). However, it is Pedro García who is successful at ridding the hacienda of the invasive ants, simply “by talking to them,” (125). Although the gringo managed to unearth personal details of the ants, he did not consider García’s irregular method. In fact, “Clara was the only one to whom the procedure seemed completely normal,” (125). Additionally, following the earthquake’s disturbance, Pedro García healed Esteban’s greatly injured body “so perfectly that the doctors… could not believe such a thing was possible,” (180).

Although it is not directly stated, it can be inferred that García does not care for Esteban Truebo, as both Pedro Segundo and Pedro Tercero grow to despise Esteban. However, Esteban was certainly in a vulnerable position when he was injured; without Pedro García’s handiwork Esteban would likely have died. In the first chapter, Nana states that “many children fly like birds, guess other people’s dreams, and speak with ghosts, but that they all outgrow it when they lose their innocence,” (9). Therefore, it is possible that Pedro García remains unique despite his old age and blindness because there still exists an innocent, genuine goodness within him.

Opposite of Pedro García is Father Restrepo. “The priest was blessed with a long, incriminating finger, which he used to point out sinners in public,” (2). Restrepo would wrongly accuse innocent people of committing crimes, in an almost vision-like manner. However, despite his position, Father Restrepo is no saint. At ten years old, Clara is claimed by Restrepo to be possessed by the devil. Although his ‘visions’ might suggest otherwise, Restrepo has no special gifts. Whether this is due to “innocence [lost]” or “a lack of training” is uncertain. However, we can predict that further on in the book, following the deaths of Nana and Férula, Clara’s steady transition back into the present, and the growth of Clara’s hatred for Esteban; Clara’s special abilities will decline.

Within the first few chapters of the book we can see this sort of tipping scale that weighs more on one side for men and women, depending on who they are. When it comes to Esteban we see the scale change which side it tips for him. At first we see him as sort of a good guy but when the girl he wants to be with dies he turns into a completely different person. Tipping the scale to the other side, a side that made him power hunger and an insatiable hunger of taking advantage of those he saw as less than him. And when it comes to which side the scale favors it seems to be men, the gender that has always been seen as superior over females. But as we read more the one female that does seem to have power over Esteban is Transito Soto a prostitute. She is the woman that Esteban sort of falls for and wants to do things for. This type of power of persuasion that Transito has over Esteban is the power of making things seem fine for him when in reality they aren’t; tipping the scales in favor of Transito. However, if we were to look at Esteban’s wife Clara, we see a girl whose scale is never tipping in her favor. She is constantly for seeing bad things happen to the people around her that she felt guilty enough to marry the man of her friend of whom she predicted would die. With this we can see how for men who gain power and money, their scale is in a constant in balance. And for the women in this book we see that the way their life plays out depends on how they choose to feel what has occurred in their lives.