Chapter Summary: The House Of The Spirits
Austin Scholer
P.6
2/25/13
Different Histories
In the novel, “The House of the Spirits”, the author, Isabel Allende uses the symbolism of the house on the corner and the viewpoints of Esteban and Clara’s notebooks to show the reader that in order to understand the history of the Trueba family, multiple viewpoints must be taken into consideration.
Through the use of symbolism, the house on the corner is representative of the Trueba’s history and how the family’s history is told through dichotomy. The house has two structures that must be observed in order to understand the entire home, one being inspired by Esteban, and the other being inspired by Clara. The structure that Esteban builds is the outside and the foundation of the house. …show more content…
Esteban’s narration is biased and unreliable, but through the use of Clara’s notebooks we see the other side to Esteban’s time at Tres Marías as the patrón. When Esteban recalls his leadership at Tres Marías he says, “no ones going to convince me that I wasn’t a good patrón”(51) and that he has “been a good patron; there’s no doubt about it”(54). Shortly after, we hear from Clara’s notebooks of how “[n]ot a girl passed from puberty to adulthood that [Esteban] did not subject to the woods, the riverbank, or the wrought-iron bed”(63). If the reader only heard Esteban’s narration, the reader would have only seen that he “rebuilt chicken coops and stables”, “rescued the oil fields”, and planned “an irrigation system so the crops wouldn’t have to depend on the weather”(53). During his narration the reader sees all the positive things that he did, but with Clara’s notebooks the reader also sees the negative aspects of his time at Tres Marías. Along with seeing different events that occurred with multiple narrations we also see the feelings of multiple characters. When Clara first arrives at Tres Marias “she feels that she has finally discovered her mission in life”(105). While the reader understands her motivation, Esteban is unaware that she has this drive to fulfill her mission in life. Esteban thinks she is just “charitable and generous” and wants to make “those around her happy-except [Esteban]”(178). Due to the telling of two narratives in the history of the Trueba family we are able to see the relationship dynamics from both sides, and as a result, understand the Trueba family history
P.6
2/25/13
Different Histories
In the novel, “The House of the Spirits”, the author, Isabel Allende uses the symbolism of the house on the corner and the viewpoints of Esteban and Clara’s notebooks to show the reader that in order to understand the history of the Trueba family, multiple viewpoints must be taken into consideration.
Through the use of symbolism, the house on the corner is representative of the Trueba’s history and how the family’s history is told through dichotomy. The house has two structures that must be observed in order to understand the entire home, one being inspired by Esteban, and the other being inspired by Clara. The structure that Esteban builds is the outside and the foundation of the house. …show more content…
Esteban’s narration is biased and unreliable, but through the use of Clara’s notebooks we see the other side to Esteban’s time at Tres Marías as the patrón. When Esteban recalls his leadership at Tres Marías he says, “no ones going to convince me that I wasn’t a good patrón”(51) and that he has “been a good patron; there’s no doubt about it”(54). Shortly after, we hear from Clara’s notebooks of how “[n]ot a girl passed from puberty to adulthood that [Esteban] did not subject to the woods, the riverbank, or the wrought-iron bed”(63). If the reader only heard Esteban’s narration, the reader would have only seen that he “rebuilt chicken coops and stables”, “rescued the oil fields”, and planned “an irrigation system so the crops wouldn’t have to depend on the weather”(53). During his narration the reader sees all the positive things that he did, but with Clara’s notebooks the reader also sees the negative aspects of his time at Tres Marías. Along with seeing different events that occurred with multiple narrations we also see the feelings of multiple characters. When Clara first arrives at Tres Marias “she feels that she has finally discovered her mission in life”(105). While the reader understands her motivation, Esteban is unaware that she has this drive to fulfill her mission in life. Esteban thinks she is just “charitable and generous” and wants to make “those around her happy-except [Esteban]”(178). Due to the telling of two narratives in the history of the Trueba family we are able to see the relationship dynamics from both sides, and as a result, understand the Trueba family history