The House of the Spirits: Analysis of Major Characters
"The House of the Spirits" features a rich tapestry of characters whose lives intertwine across generations, exploring themes of love, power, and social change. Esteban Trueba emerges as a central figure, a landowner whose pride and ambition lead him to both success and isolation, ultimately facing the consequences of his oppressive political beliefs. His wife, Clara del Valle, embodies a blend of idealism and mysticism, able to communicate with spirits and deeply committed to social justice, even in the face of her husband's authoritarian nature. Their daughter, Blanca, navigates the challenges of love and familial loyalty, grappling with her father's harsh expectations and her own desires, particularly in her relationship with the passionate Pedro Tercero García, a leftist activist. Alba, Clara and Esteban's granddaughter, represents resilience, engaging in revolutionary activities while confronting the brutal realities of political oppression. The narrative also includes the tragic figure of Rosa del Valle, whose untimely death profoundly impacts Clara and symbolizes the loss of innocence. Other characters, such as the corrupt count and Esteban García, further illustrate the themes of exploitation and vengeance within a society marked by conflict. Overall, the character dynamics in "The House of the Spirits" poignantly reflect the struggles and transformations of individuals against the backdrop of a politically turbulent landscape.
The House of the Spirits: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Isabel Allende
First published: La casa de los espíritus, 1982 (English translation, 1985)
Genre: Novel
Locale: An unnamed South American country much like Chile
Plot: Magical realism
Time: The 1920's through the early 1970's
Esteban Trueba (ehs-TEH-bahn trew-EH-bah), a landowner and conservative politician. His primary qualities are pride and ambition. After the death of his fiancée, Rosa del Valle, Trueba moves to the long-neglected plantation of Tres Marías and transforms it into a model estate. After marrying Rosa's younger sister Clara, he becomes the father of three legitimate children. In later years, Esteban's political conservatism and his autocratic behavior cause him to be alienated from his family. He wields power unfairly and cruelly. Only after his own granddaughter becomes a victim of the reactionary regime does Esteban come to understand his errors.
Clara del Valle Trueba, his wife. From her atheistic, liberal father and her suffragist mother, Clara inherits her idealism and her independence. Early in her childhood, her family discovers that she can predict the future and commune with spirits. After marrying Esteban, she works to improve the lot of his tenants, but gradually she becomes almost totally involved with the supernatural. After her death, Clara appears to her granddaughter in prison, inspiring her to survive. She challenges Alba to record the life of the family.
Blanca Trueba de Satigny (sa-tihn-yee), their daughter. When she is found to be pregnant by Pedro Tercero García, Blanca is forced by her father to marry a sinister count. Shortly before her daughter Alba is born, she runs away from him and returns home. During the following years, Blanca often sees Pedro secretly, and after the coup she leaves the country with him.
Pedro Tercero García (tehr-SEH-roh gahr-SEE-ah), one of the Tres Marías peasants. A leftist leader, Pedro is also Blanca's lover and the father of her child. When his involvement with Blanca is discovered, Pedro is attacked by Esteban Trueba, but he escapes and moves to the capital. He achieves fame as a radio singer and then becomes a public official in the Socialist government. At the end of the novel, though he is appalled at the fate of his people, Pedro can at least look forward to spending the rest of his life with Blanca.
Alba Trueba (born Alba de Satigny), the daughter of Blanca and Pedro and the adored granddaughter of Esteban Trueba. When she joins other students in revolutionary activities, she is arrested and tortured, but she courageously refuses to betray her friends or her lover, Miguel. After her release, she remains with her grandfather, and together they undertake the writing of The House of the Spirits.
Esteban García (ehs-TEH-bahn), the evil son of Esteban Trueba's oldest bastard child. He is attracted to Alba, but he hates her for being Trueba's legitimate grandchild. Years later, as Colonel García, one of the most feared men in the police state, he catches Alba in his net and avenges himself by brutalizing her.
Rosa del Valle, Clara's sister. Rosa intended to marry Esteban until her untimely murder by the hands of political antagonists of her wealthy father. Rosa represents otherworldliness, outside this corrupt time and place. She has green hair and a mermaidlike body. Her death shocks Clara into nine years of silence, providing an early lesson into unbelievable realities that Clara will confront throughout her life.
The count, a fortune hunter who marries Blanca. His only function in the text is as a metaphor for the corruption, decadence, and continual encroachment of the Old World on the New. He robs the New World's indigenous inhabitants of their customs, traditions, and soul. His sexual exploitation of the Indian servants reflects his stealing of their histories and their resources. For a minor character, his role in the novel is significant, for it is part of the nonfictional record.
Barrabás (bah-rrah-BAHS), a dog, the closest companion to Clara during her early years. His name is the first word of the novel and one of the last. He shows up at various moments in the text as a unifying symbol that encapsulates time and space and as a creature that crosses reality with fantasy. He is a constant reminder of Clara and what she stands for; he also represents circular time, for he never stays in the past but is continually brought forward in the text. In the conclusion, he is brought up from the basement (the past) and will serve as a rug in Alba's room, which was Clara's room. He will thus be a witness to her writing as he was to Clara's. Barrabás functions ultimately as a bridge through time and memory and, along with Alba, as a signifier of the future.