The House of the Spirits Study Guide
“The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende is a family saga that describes the life of four generations, no less. It starts from the story of del Valle sisters, one of which possesses paranormal powers and then grows into the story of the whole new town emerging at the coast when their family has to move from their hometown. The story of the family and their house, later becoming The House of the Spirits, is tightly interwoven with the fate of the town itself, its rise and fall. The powerful ancestors with their physical and spiritual power pass away and their descendants are too involved in the petty schemes, rivalry and holding old grudges to see that the town founded by their family has to adjust to the new reality - or die. We see the rigid patriarchal society that clings to its values and traditions and we do not know if these traditions will help them survive until the very end of the book.
“The House of the Spirits” has lots of characters, some of them have similar names, so it is quite complicated to understand who’s who without drawing charts. But when we sort out the family tree, the book becomes a tragic and graphical novel about the pride, vanity and old offences that can’t be healed. While reading, we are immersed in the world of alien culture and values, understandable only for those who were born and raised in similar conditions. The mystical fleur over all the story, that we feel from the first pages (thanks to the paranormal abilities of one of the sisters) only emphasizes the natural human emotions boiling under the surface of conservative family. Passion, hatred, love and vengeance, power over offsprings and rebellion against the patriarch - everything that involves the family hierarchy can be found in this book.
This novel is very Spanish by its nature, but is an incredibly interesting piece of literature to read for everyone willing to investigate the tangled family story.
Author: Wayne Byrd
New Essays
“You can't find someone who doesn't want to be found.” — Page 152 — “This is to assuage our conscience, darling" she would explain to Blanca. "But it doesn't help the poor. They don't need charity; they need justice.” — — “At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already...
Heather Barker Ms. Johnson English II March 17, 2014 The House Of The Spirits Anger is developed throughout The House Of The Spirits when characters become so infuriated with one another that it clouds their judgment, incites violence, and even pushes them to seek revenge. “Allende weaves violence...
Keith IB English III Pereira 12/15/12 The House of the Spirits Essay In Isabel Allende’s novel The House of the Spirits, there are two definitive classes of people that are present throughout the novel. The poor class, including the peasants of Tres Marias and the socialist party members, has...
Jerry Fan 4/1/2013 Esteban Trueba The House of the Spirits is a novel written by Isabel Allende in 1982. One of the main characters in the novel is Esteban Trueba. As the story progresses, we see Esteban continuously thinking he can get what he wants but never stays satisfied. He goes through many...