THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS

by
Isabel Allende
STYLE: NARRATION AND POINT OF VIEW
There is more than one narrator in this complex novel. Can you identify the
different narrators? There are three distinct narrative voices in the novel.
The first voice is that of an unnamed first person ("I") narrator.
The majority of reconstruction is told in the third person, with all characters
referred to as "he" or "she." This second narrative voice is omniscient, or
"all!nowin"," a#le to relate what the various characters are thin!in" or
feelin". This narrative voice wouldn$t #e so unusual if it wasn$t interrupted
#y another narrative voice.
The third voice #elon"s to %ste#an True#a, whose first person ("I")
accounts serve to express either his intense passion or his acute
sufferin".
&
'
TASK
(ind and ma!e a note of five )uotations for each narrator. *iscuss, with use of
su#jectspecific terminolo"y, what each narrator reveals and why they have #een
used.
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STYLE: NARRATIVE VOICES
%ach narrator has a distinct style and personality.
TASK
&. +ow consistent is this personality with the character as descri#ed in the
#oo!?
'. ,hat does this tell us a#out the relia#ility of narrators?
-. .oo! #ac! at your previous comments. ,hy do you thin! that /llende uses
such a complex narrative approach?
STYLE: FORESHADOWING
/llende fre)uently uses foreshadowin" in The House of the Spirits to hint
at the fate facin" her characters.
TASK
%xplain how the followin" )uotations show foreshadowin".
/s early as Chapter &, the narrator remar!s that 0osa1s poisonin" is just2 "the
first of many acts of violence that mar!ed the fate of the del 3alle family."
/ more specific remar! comes in Chapter 4 when, after reunitin" with her #rother
5i"uel after his first day of school, /manda impulsively tells him that she would
sacrifice herself for him. The narrator adds that "she did not !now then that one
day she would have to, 6"
/nother instance of foreshadowin" occurs at the end of Chapter &' when the last
survivin" 5ora sister comes to warn /l#a that she is in dan"er. %ste#an
dismisses her words as cra7y #ut, the narrator notes,2 8later he would recall .uisa
5ora1s prophetic words, when they too! /l#a away in the middle of the ni"ht,
while the curfew was in force."
TASK
+ow does the fre)uent use of foreshadowin" throu"hout the novel helps creae a
sense !" "ae a #!r$ and re%n"!rce &e '%!lence !" &e (!l%%cal syse)*
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STYLE: +AGICAL REALIS+
5a"ical realism is a style of writin" which treats myth and ma"ic with the same
acceptance and o#jectivity as "truth."
TASK
&. (ind and ma!e a note of five examples of ma"ic realism which happen in
the novel.
'. Is this ma"ic realism consistent throu"hout the course of the novel? 9ay
particular reference to the later parts of the novel.
-. *iscuss how the tone of the novel chan"es throu"h the course of the
#oo!. ,hy do you thin! this is?
:. Is there a sense of humor in this novel? ;upport with )uotations.
The author seems to #e as!in" whether a woman with psychic a#ilities or a
"overnment that tortures and murders thousands of its citi7ens is more
un#elieva#le. DISC,SS-
STYLE: SY+.OLIS+
TASK
&. +ow can the relationships in and amon" the True#a family #e seen as a
microcosm of the lar"er society2 %xplain how the followin" examples show
this idea.
'. %ste#an True#a1s rape of 9ancha <arc=a is a reflection >
-. %ste#an <arc=a1s rape of /l#a reflects >
:. ,hat does the sharin" of writin" and stories amon" the various
"enerations of females sym#oli7e?
?. In the novel the famous poet$s funeral #ecomes "the sym#olic #urial of
freedom." %xplain why.
@. %ste#an True#a "radually shrin!s to Clara1s hei"ht. ,hat can this
sym#oli7e?
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STYLE: SPIRIT,ALITY AND SY+.OLIS+
&. ,hat other sym#ols do people see in the novel?
'. ,hat is the si"nificance of "reen hair (0osa, /l#a)?
-. ,omen are spiritual centers, men are concerned with physical. ,hy did
she present the world this way?
:. ,hat is the si"nificance of Clara$s periods of silence?
/llende1s novel ends with /l#a1s reco"nition that "the past, existin" only as
memory and hence open to transformation, loses its "rip over the present as well
as its power to effectively predetermine the future."
In vowin" to love her un#orn dau"hter as she has #een loved, even
thou"h that dau"hter may #e the result of a rape, what is /l#a essentially
tryin" to chan"e in Chile and with future "enerations?
SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTE/T
TASK
.oo! for facts that indicate where (in what country) and when (in what time
period) the action occurs.
/lthou"h the settin" of the novel is never explicitly named as Chile, the history of
that country forms an important part of the plot.
,hy do you thin! the country is never identified in the text?
The political turmoil that en"ulfed Chile in the &A4Bs after the election of "the
Candidate" ;alvador /llende is reflected in the increasin" impact that political
events have in the lives of the characters.
TASK
&. ,hat theme does the Tres 5ar=as hacienda help to show?
'. ,rite down &B facts a#out the political history of Chile.
9a#lo Ceruda, a Chilean poet who won the Co#el 9ri7e for .iterature in &A4&.
Ceruda was not Chile1s first Co#el laureate poet <a#riela 5istral won the
accolade in &A:? #ut he is considered one of the most important .atin /merican
poets of the twentieth century
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En0l%s&
;andino duerme en la selva hasta ese
d=a,
;andino sleeps in the forest to this day,
su fusil se ha llenado de lianas y de
lluvia,
his rifle has filled with vines and rain,
su rostro no tiene pDrpados, his face has no eyelids,
pero las heridas con )ue lo matasteis
estDn vivas
#ut the wounds with which you !illed
him are alive
como las manos de 9uerto 0ico )ue
esperan
li!e the hands of 9uerto 0ico which
await
la lu7 de los cuchillos. the li"ht of !nives.
CENSORSHIP
The +ouse of the ;pirits can #e seen to expose some of the #rutal political
re"imes that existed in Chile until the late &AEBs. It has #een su""ested that it
escaped censorship #ecause of the ma"ic realist approach, with which the
#rutality is touched upon.
TASK
&. ,hat is censorship?
'. 0esearch how censorship has #een shown in .atin /merican countries.
-. ,hy do you thin! the "overnment would have considered censorin" the
novel?
:. ,hy do you thin! the ma"ic realism allowed social commentary to #e
expressed in places?
?. ,rite down a list of issues it discusses which could have #een censored.
@. ,hat points do you thin! /llende was ma!in" throu"h her social
commentary?
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FE+INIS+
"6 the #attle of the sexes is cleverly manifested in the continuous stru""le for
space in the house, 6"
%ste#an has desi"ned the "#i" house on the corner" to demonstrate his own wealth and
power, #ut it more accurately reflects the personality of his wife, Clara. %ven when he is
turnin" the salon of the house into a political meetin" place, Clara mana"es to continue
her spiritualist meetin"s and charity wor! #y addin" rooms and staircases to the #ac! of
the house. The split #etween the couple caused #y %ste#an1s violence also #ecomes
evident in the house, as "an invisi#le #order arose #etween the parts of the house
occupied #y %ste#an True#a and those occupied #y his wife." .ittle /l#a reco"ni7es that
"her "randmother was the soul of the #i" house on the corner," and the loss %ste#an
feels after her death is mirrored in a similar decline of the house.
(ew women writers emer"ed from the Foom, however, and so when the translation of
/llende1s House of the Spirits was pu#lished &AE?, it was justly hailed for #rin"in" a
fresh, feminine perspective to the portrayal of .atin /merican life.
CLASS
In the novel we see a "rowin" conflict #etween classes. This conflict is #etween
the 5arxists G Communists G ;ocialists and the Conservatives.
TASK
%xplain how the followin" characters can #e seen to represent each party.
;upport your ideas with )uotations.
9edro Tercero > 5arxists G Communists G ;ocialists
%ste#an > Conservatives
Hseful points to remem#er, as the political aspect of the novel can #ecome a little complicated.
There is little division #etween the 5arxists G ;ocialists G Communists
The Catholic church tended to #e on the side of the ;ocialists
/ ;ocialist "overnment comes to power
The Conservatives as! for aid from a#road to try to overthrow the ;ocialists. These
would #e conservative, or ri"htwin" "overnments such as the H;/.
/ military dictatorship then comes into power.
TASK
&. +ow is the political unrest of the society paralleled with happenin"s in
nature?
'. +ow does the reemer"ence of Cicolas and Iaime into the *e 3alle +ouse
hold increase the focus around the family$s involvement in political
events?
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DEATH
,hereas other texts may approach death in an dar! and depressin" fashion,
/llende deals with death in a sli"htly different way. This is shown particularly
throu"h the character of Clara.
TASK
,hat are Clara$s #eliefs a#out death?
WHAT1S IN A NA+E*
/llende chose the names of her characters carefully.
C./0/ > C.%/0
FI/CC/ > ,+IT%
/.F/ */,C
TASK
&. .oo! at the names and their meanin"s. %xplain why these names have
#een chosen.
'. ,hat do all three meanin"s have in common?
-. *raw a family tree to see how all the characters are lin!ed to"ether.
THE HO,SE ON THE CORNER 2 A
+ETAPHOR
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4
TASK
&. ,rite a description of the house on the corner. 0emem#er to include how
it chan"es as the novel pro"resses.
'. ,hat do you thin! the house can #e seen to #e a metaphor of?
.ater on the novel we see that the house is divided up.
-. *escri#e this division and explain what you thin! it could #e seen to
represent? ,hat do you thin! the division of the house and Tres 5arias
shows?
:. +ow does the character of Clara chan"e when livin" in Tres 5arias? ,hy
has /llende shown this?
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E
FRA+EWORK FOR ANALYSING E/TRACTS 3
POE+S
JJJ/.. 9KICT; ;+KH.* F% ;H99K0T%* ,IT+ LHKT%; /C* /C/.M;I; I(
/99.IC/F.%.JJJ
Kverview of extract
3ery Friefly ,hat happens in the extract?
Themes and Ideas
,hat main themes does this extract deal with?
+ow are these themes developed?
+ow do characters help to present the themes?
(orm
Carrative techni)ue > first, third, implied reader
Krder > chronolo"ical, flash#ac!, para"raphs, sentence len"ths
Hse of interior monolo"ueG dialo"ue
0e"ister used throu"hout > fomalG collo)uialG childli!e
Tense
(or poetry thin! a#out stan7a len"th, free verse, rhyme, emjam#ment
Characters
,hat information is revealed a#out characters?
,hat is revealed a#out characters$ feelin"s, motivations etc?
Ima"ery and ;ym#ols
,hat ima"es and sym#ols appear in this extract?
,hy have these ima"esG sym#ols #een used?
,hat do they represent?
,hy are they relevant to the social and historical context in which they were written?

.an"ua"eG literary devices

These s&!4ld als! be d%sc4ssed &r!40&!4 essay
*iscuss the meter used. ,hat does it show? Flan! verseG 9rose
*iscuss rhymes schemes, why used if at all?
+as dramatic irony #een used? If so how?
(i"urative lan"ua"e
/ny relevant lin"uistic techni)ues
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A
9honolo"y
/lliteration > plosive, fricative, si#ilance
/ssonance
%uphonic v Cacophonic
Conclusion
,hat is si"nificant a#out the passa"e? ,hat can we learn from it? ,hat important ideas does it
su""est?
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&B