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“ . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.” (6, Ch 1)
The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
“It was the custom then for women and children not to attend funerals, which were considered a male province.” (34, Ch 1) Allende utilizes this quote to demonstrate a beginning of plot development by showing elements of a patriarchal society and present the past limitations of women as lower class members of this society. This point of view also is seen from a narrator that exists in the future and is reflecting on past customs and while doing so insinuates that this class limitation will go through change and possible elimination during the course of the novel. It begins a structural approach of presenting to the reader a metamorphosis of women’s role in society through time.
“I would never find another woman [Rosa] with her green hair and underwater beauty.” (35, Ch 1)
Green is the color the ocean and a symbol of blossoming and awakening while water is pure and innocent. It has a middling quality and mediates between two extremes, or two political standpoints (Socialism and Conservatism). Life ascends from red and blossoms in green, a feminine color of childbearing, as is seen through the many generations of green haired women. Green is a color of hope, strength and longevity, where Clara and Rosa’s hair help represent them as a very natural and bold feminine aspect of the book. Rosas blossom between green leaves and the symbolic name of Rosa sets the organic tone of femininity found within her sibling, Clara, also because she posses supernatural powers of the clairvoyant.
“I would like to have been born a man, so I could leave too . . . And I would not have liked to be a women.” (45, Ch 2) These two phrases are said by Ferula and her brother, Esteban Trueba, in a bicker about the care for their mother. Ferula is stuck in a position as a maternal figure, to care for the dying mother while Esteban’s masculinity allows him to enter the world carefree and to start a new life for himself. Free of the chains of Ferula’s obligation, her brother has the nerve to confess to her that he understands that women are not given equal opportunity while disregarding her dilemma for selfish purposes. His shallow point of view and strict desire for personal gain characterize Esteban as a careless exploiter of the male favored society and set a trend of irresponsibility that reoccurs in his disrespect for other lower class workers as well.
“This is a different country. Here the Conservative Party wins clearly and openly, and we don’t need a general to keep things orderly and calm, not like the neighboring dictatorships . . .” (70, Ch 2)
It is very ironic that Esteban is so oblivious to the opposing party and its power so early in the novel. He has a false sense of security knowing that his political side will always win the nation’s elections and furthermore, that no dictator would take charge of the country and destroy order. This characterization aids in explaining his shallowness near the end of the book when unable to admit his own error in logic, he continues to support the “conservative” revolution even though it becomes apparent to the rest of the country that a military dictatorship has arisen.
“She had already made up her mind to marry without love.” (90, Ch 3)
Allende demonstrates the irony of Esteban’s struggle for Clara’s love throughout the novel while Clara possess a clear indifference in attitude toward her lover from the beginning. She does not marry Trueba from surrender of her emotions but rather out of a premonition she receives about her destiny. This destiny may have been simply to bear children into a position that has the ability to provide an influence in the society around them. She wanted to marry someone with power and received a vision from the future before her marriage that one day he would be able to provide her with this request.
“Since when has a man not beaten his wife? . . . when everybody knows he is the one in charge?” (106, Ch 4)
This grotesque comment made by the servants at the Tres Marias hacienda serves to blatantly present the ideas of feminine insignificance within this arena of political view. It is expressed even from the viewpoints of the servants, which represent a lower sanding in their society. The significance in this quote can be found in the event when Esteban finally gives in to his violent inner turmoil and slaps Clara to the ground, effectively ending their already semi-legit relationship promptly. Her resistance shows that her pride and dignity still stand and that her strength as a feminine character outweighs the dominance of a physically stronger male figure.
“Your body and soul will shrivel up and you will die like a dog!” (132, Ch 4)
A prediction made by Ferula, Esteban’s sister, at the time of her eviction from the Trueba household foreshadows the grim final years of Esteban’s existence. These types of premonitions and curses represent the magical aspect of the book and bring about supernatural aspect of the feminist characters. Because magic is seen as a natural power, its mystism is found within the female characters primarily to demonstrate their organic qualities.
“ Esteban Garcia. Who was destined to play a terrible role in the history of the family.” (140, Ch 4)
The prediction and characterization of Esteban Garcia’s over domineering character develop the plot by introducing his character and forcing the reader to wonder about what conflicts he will present to the family or simply to Esteban Trueba in the future years. His reappearances are then related to this quote in attempts to piece together his climb to high military ranks and eventually to a placement with the ability of ruining the Trueba household.
“They looked at each other disconcertedly, feeling for the first in their lives that they were practically strangers.” (145, Ch 4)
This excerpt is ironic in that it seems that every time they meet from here on out, they always feel as if they are strangers. Because so much time passes often between their meetings, their physical and ideological changes affect their standing relationship. The quote goes deeper in defining the barrier between love found within the novel. These lines highlight the idea of politics separating true love, which separates these lovers for significant amounts of time, ruining a what could have been very happy marriage and love life for many peaceful years.
“ . . . the stupidest things can be set to music. You’d be better off learning love songs.” (154, Ch 5)
Significance is seen in the notion that Esteban accuses Pedro Tercero Garcia of playing communist songs and therefore spreading the idea of socialism to the rest of the community like an infection. What he doesn’t realize is that first, Pedro Tercero constructed these ideas himself and hence poses a larger problem than anticipated and second, the village is already “infected” with the socialist disease, as he would refer to it.
“For the first time in her life she took charge of material things . . . for she could no longer rely on her husband, on Ferula, or on Nana.” (164, Ch 5)
The plot development is found taking place in this quote by advancing the ideas of feminist seclusion found in the previous excerpts. The passage of time allows Clara the chance to break free from some of her protective shells of masculinity. She gains the opportunity to fend for herself and realize what it means to be self-dependant, an important aspect in the struggle for women’s independence.
“She was a charitable and generous women, eager to make those around her happy– everyone except me.” (179, Ch 6)
The characterizations presented her show Clara to be a very generous woman capable of infinite amounts of love and affection for others. The irony however is found in that her desire to be with her husband has not simply expired, but has never truly been in existence, from the time she stated that she had married without love. This is a very torturous concept in Esteban’s life, as he is obsessed with Clara’s mind body and sole. The more he desires to consume her, it seems the further she is driven to seclude herself and find independence.
“ . . . the coming elections were their chance to shake off the yoke under which they had always lived.” (191, Ch 6)
This symbolism portrays socialism as a method of breaking free from the conservative shell under which all lower class individuals live. They are not given the proper ability to provide any time of self enterprise but instead are subjected to a vicious cycle of debt and poor paying, manual labor intensive, jobs which turn out to be dead ends with no types of employee benefits. The social echelon denies them access to the possibilities of living in the levels of comfort accessible to only aristocrats and elitists. The communist victory, however, plans to provide that opportunity to them in the future.
“ . . . in the end, the fox always eats the hens” (192, Ch 6)
This serves to reinforce Clara’s premonition that the party that always wins will continue to win and follows a symbolic riddle that was introduced by Pedro Garcia to his grandson about a fox and hens. The story is supposed to resemble the ideological battle of socialism and conservatism.
“I slept badly and dreamt again of Rosa.” (203, Ch 6)
Esteban’s fantasizing is often found in low points in his career or social life. They represent his true struggle for security of love in his love. The dreams are a symbol for his loneliness and desperation for compassion, which is either non existent or denied from those closest to him. It is hard for the reader to sympathize with this character however due to his violent outbursts and rampage. From this point of view, one can justify the pain his character endures as a result of his actions.
“Amanda represented the essence of everything feminine and, since she was Nicolas’s girlfriend, of everything forbidden.” (222, Ch 7)
Again, representation of love being separated by external forces is shown. Although Nicolas was Amanda’s boyfriend, her true lover was immediately found to be his brother Jaime. Their relationship was however denied by the respect Jaime possessed for his brother and for their relationship. It is also ironic that Nicolas proceeds to leave the country never to return and successfully leaving Amanda later in the book. This forces Amanda to loose twice by having been denied the relationship with either of the two men. Although, this relationship helps characterize Jaime being the more responsible and compassionate of the two brothers as he proceeds to risk his medical career for the sake of his brother and Amanda’s future well being by performing her abortion.
“ . . .as soon as the old man entered the room, the plant lowered its leaves and began to exude a whitish fluid, like tears of milk, from its stem.” (268, Ch 8)
An element of personification is found in these lines, which describes that plant’s weep for peace. It is given human characteristics by sobbing and sulking at the sight of Esteban’s temper. IT also provides a symbolic link to the nature motif found within the women, who also are tortured by his temper.
“Alba gave up the bay rum . . . which allowed the green to reappear in its full leafiness.” (269, Ch 8)
Leafiness is used as an adjective for Alba’s hair in conjunction with the color green to symbolize her aspects of nature. She is pure at heart and possesses some of the same organic powers of clairvoyance as her grandmother. The leafiness presents green as a symbol of the growth of vegetation and her natural propensity to care for others and become everything opposite of what her grandfather’s temper represents.
“Before I had always felt like a giant next to her, but when I lay down next to her on the bed I saw that we were almost the same size.” (293, Ch 10)
The imagery presented in comparing physical size of Clara and her husband transcends to another layer. This quote is found far enough down the time line for the book to begin finding legit comparisons between the independence and self sufficiency of her husband’s male character and her own feminist one. Allende makes this comparison through the eyes of Esteban so as to show his realization of Clara’s powerful feminine character. Either it has recently grown to a significant level, has accumulated unnoticeably over the years, or was always in existence. It is here represented physically with size.
“Miguel explained that the election was a joke and that whoever won, it would make no difference because you would just be changing the needle on the same old syringe, and that you cannot make a revolution at the ballot box but only with the people’s blood.” (335, Ch 11)
Miguel’s statement makes a harsh symbolic reference to the fact that the political feud in this country requires blood and pain to please one group of people while another suffers. He states that like a syringe, the political factions of the nation will still bleed the countries strength to death and it makes not difference which party wins because each will face a strong enough opposition to effectively reek a havoc of destruction that will topple the existing well being of the nation. Miguel describes this by stating that only people’s blood or sacrifice can actually change anything, not the election.
“In a few hours the country had split into two irreconcilable groups . . . “(341, Ch 12)
This observation comes from an external point of view that describes the attitude and tone of the country during the election crisis. It appeared as if families and friends were even separated by the political disputes and that all the side taking has caused such uproar in the political stability of the nation. This foreshadows the great crumble of political standings in the nation and the governmental crisis to come.
“Bread, circuses, and something to worship are all they need.” (382, Ch 13)
Esteban Trueba makes this comment naively in response to a prospect of the ideas of socialism. He denies their viability with the notion that the people of the country are very simple living and only need the basics of life. His disrespect for other’s way of living and disconnection with the true feelings of the people of his country can characterize him as a poor leader for the electorate of his country. Although he claims to be fighting for the betterment of the nation and its stability, what can he possibly know about its condition if he fails to recognize the struggles and problems of the underclass majority of the population?
“He realized that all he really cared about was losing his granddaughter, because she was his last link to life.” (399, Ch 13)
The value he places on his granddaughter at this point in the story reflects that of the scenario found earlier when Ferula was left to take care of his mother on her deathbed. The reversal in character is found in that his once ambitious and powerful carefree spirit is now left at the hands of his one caretaker. This is while his daughter, now ambitious as he was at that time, is take hostage by the rogue government which constructed itself underneath his nose, while he was supporting it, therefore, it can be seen that ironically, his political obsession with conservatism led to his own destruction of well being and power.
Word Count: 2781
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