Nevertheless, She Persisted: Female Superiority in Isabelle Allende's House of the Spirits Anais Vaughn 10th Grade

The female characters in Isabel Allende’s novel, House of the Spirits, are generally depicted as the stronger of the sexes. It becomes apparent to the reader very early on that the author has a lot of respect for women; this is manifested in the fact that even characters who have many negative qualities are depicted sympathetically and as strong people. The three female characters who stand out the most in terms of these extremes are Clara, Tránsito Soto, and Amanda. Though Amanda is demeaned, Clara is honored deeply and Tránsito Soto is given equal status to every successful man mentioned.

At the beginning of the novel, Amanda is described as individual, unique, and strong-willed; however, by the end, this has all changed, and her poor circumstances have gotten the best of her. When Nicolás, her boyfriend, first comes over to her house after learning she is pregnant, he realizes for the first time that her strong, independent façade is just that: a façade (“He saw the disorder Amanda lived in and realized that until then he had known almost nothing about her...Poverty to him was an abstract, distant concept...” (234)). This is the first time the reader understands in just what level of squalor and deprivation she is living,...