Spirits Subtext, Context, and Other

¶ … Spirits

Subtext, Context, and Other Historical Reflections: Class Struggle in Allende's the House of Spirits

Literature cannot help but reflect the period in which it was written and with which it is concerned, even when these are not the same things. The large-scale political forces that occur or are occurring during both periods (when they are not part of the same time span) and the small-scale individual and household values held by the society(ies) represented in any piece of literature will both find some amount of expression in that literature, even if it is only implicit in the perspectives and decisions of the characters, narrator, and author. The social mores and power structures of eighteenth century England are visible in the works of Jane Austen just as much of the materialism and sense of alienation typical of the latter half of the twentieth century can be seen in the novels of Stephen King.

Some authors, however, do not merely let these aspects of society and humanity make subtle and implicit appearances in their works, but rather make conscious and explicit efforts to address such issues in the specific contexts and even the direct plot points and descriptions in their works. Isabelle Allende is one such author; though her works could not be said to be primarily politically or even historically focused and motivated, historical and political events and trends have a clear place in each of her fictional novels. One of these political and historical trends that is necessarily observable in her tales of twentieth century Latin America is that of class struggle, which becomes important and apparent in a variety of ways.

This paper will examine the issue of class struggle in Allende's first novel, the House of Spirits, which has been cited as being at least inspired by both historical and familial events that the author witnessed or was told about, if not a direct though fictionalized retelling of these events and characters (Garcia-Johnson; Hanmer & Akram-Lodhi). Two specific strains of class struggle are identified and examined; the first is directly economic in nature and can be seen in the position and actions of the household in comparison relation to the larger economy and political structure apparent in the society of the novel, while the other is a specific aspect of class struggle that is only tangentially (though importantly) related to economic opportunity and access: the struggle for female independence, equality, and power. Through an analysis of the House of Spirits and selected critical commentary, it will be seen that Allende paints a dark yet ultimately optimistic vision of these struggles and their outcome.

Economic Mobility: The Changing household

One of the most important features of the House of Spirits is, of course, the house or hacienda that is central to the story, Las Tres Marias. Esteban's quest to rebuild this family home and what it represents to its former glory and stability drives many of his actions and shapes much of his character throughout the story of the novel, and thus has major effects on the shape of the novel as a whole and the other characters individually. Class struggle can thus directly be seen in many of the interactions between Esteban and those around him, and can also be more symbolically or implicitly seen by an examination of what the hacienda represents.

In a paper more concerned with real-world economics than with literary symbolism, Lucia C. Hanmer and a. Haroon Akram-Lodhi nonetheless observe that there are important lessons that can be gleaned in economic terms from Allende's the House of Spirits. They note that the household in this tale serves as a powerful and discrete -- that is, unified and singular -- economic agent, which imbues it both with the decision-making necessities and relative independence of an individual economic actor as well as the more potent and influential collectivity granted by the multiple real members of a given household (Hanmer & Akram-Lodhi). In both a "post-Keynesian" economic model and in the House of Spirits quite specifically, the household should be seen as the primary means of wealth attainment and the vehicle of economic choice, and when this breaks down it can be indicative of other economic and societal disturbances, shifts, and instability (Hanmer & Akram Lodhi).

Class struggles are one type of such instability, and this instability is hinted at again and again throughout the novel. Esteban's rape of one of the servants at the hacienda is indicative of the subjugation and authority that exists within the household, and the fact that this union ends up resulting in a child can be seen as indicative of the generative power of such a power and class structure. This child also ends up having a child, however, and the grandson of this class rape completes the cycle of violence by imprisoning and raping Esteban's granddaughter, showing a new type of class dominance that is representative of the equal evils yet changed perspective of the socialist/Communist regimes.

Gender Struggles and Female Power/Independence

Another very evident strain throughout the House of Spirits, and one that can be seen in both instances of rape along with may other events and details of character and plot, is the struggle for gender equality or enhanced feminine independence and political power. Though not directly an example of class struggle, the struggle for gender equality in both economic and political opportunities and access has long been linked to the struggle for greater class mobility and general class struggles, and these links are quite apparent in this novel (Garcia-Johnson). From Nivea, mother of the central female figure Clara, through Clara's daughter Blanca and to Blanca's daughter Alba, a trajectory of feminist progression both in perspective and in the specifics and level of success of each woman's struggles can be seen as again being both symbolically and directly represented (Garcia-Johnson).

According to this interpretation, Nivea represents the early movement for basic rights like voting, while Clara is demanding of a more full and personal range of freedom and power. Blanca shows a move towards a greater realization of these freedoms and of a recognized female passion, and finally Alba suggests the most recent representation of the feminist struggle in a consolidation of the women that came before her, and in bearing the brunt of the masculine reaction (Garci-Johnson). Each generation represents a view of the feminine struggle in the twentieth century that is at once distinct yet fluid, differing from yet building upon and contributing to the previous and next generation of struggle (Garcia-Johnson).