Allende, A Kindrid Spirit

As also described below, Isabel Allende has been extraordinarily prolific and widely known within the literary and Latin American worlds. In fact, she is cited as a very important representation of Chilean culture in numerous Spanish language textbooks all over the country. Therefore, not only do her works and the existence of a foundation in her name indicate her influence, but acknowledgement within widely printed texts also shows how deeply important this woman is to the culture of Chile and the Spanish-speaking realm.

First and foremost, I cannot ignore how humble Allende is. From the moment any of her pieces on her websites or works are read, the reader can almost immediately understand this quality. She even seems to "refuse" to write a traditional biography and gives brief insight about her life that is marked with simplicity. It is apparent that she has always been closely connected to the public arena, but she shares that the most important events have been with the people she loves and within her heart; two entities she does not (understandably) care to share. In this, she does not strive to boast or intimidate or seem above others despite her immense accomplishments, but she does provide comments on living that she has found to be true. She says:

• "It is important to be kind, be truthful, and take care of others and myself.



• Women my age, as elders of the village, have a duty to care for the young, especially girls. If the world is ever going to heal, it will be women who will make it so. Today's girls are tomorrow's women. We cannot leave them to fend for themselves.



• I have been empowered by education, reproductive rights and economic independence. Young women who are uneducated and have no skills, who are not in control of their own bodies and fertility, and who cannot support themselves, can become destitute and be victimized. Each of us must act without delay to empower girls to take control of their lives, even if they stumble and fall a hundred times. With our help, they can succeed.



• In every human being there is a core of shining dignity and courage" (Allende 2007).

These statements alone indicate her strength and understanding of life, but it is arguable that there is another facet that makes her even stronger. In 1992, Paula Frias, her daughter of 28 years died. Though it is sure that Allende has had time to mourn, she speaks of her daughter with great courage and has done many acts to honor her life. She began by writing a memoir titled Paula. Then, in 1996, she decided to create The Isabel Allende Foundation as an effort to continue her daughter's work and compassion. During her life, Paula volunteered her time for communities in Venezuela and Spain. According to Allende, her daughter's motto was "when in doubt, what is the most generous thing to do?" (Allende 2007). Therefore, through each of her works, her foundation's gifts and the memory of her daughter, she is continuing to support a community-driven culture that cares about broader concerns and is dedicated to improving the world "a day at a time, a person at a time, [because] in the end it all adds up!" (Allende 2007)

As stated above, one of Allende's most important and well-received works is Paula. Allende states that Paula was never meant to be published. It was supposed to be a way for her teach herself how to let her daughter go. Between 1991 and 1992, Paula was in a coma due to a rare blood disease. Allende simply wanted a way to calm herself and something to give her future children and grand children as a comfort and marking of this passage of life. In Paula, Allende goes back and forth between her childhood past and the present reality of her daughter's hospital stay. This memoir has been described as a thriller. She dictates extraordinary stories about her ancestors and the lessons each of us can learn from them. We also hear her wonderful and bitter memories of childhood, the amazing anecdotes of her youth, and the most intimate secrets that should be told in whispers are heard. In Paula, Allende writes an unconventional autobiography whose acceptance of the magical and spiritual worlds remind the reader of her first book The House of the Spirits. Please explore this page to the fullest and absorb Allende's spirit one word, one sentence, one paragraph and one work at a time; it all adds up.

Allysa Kehring - WS200 - Research Project Post - Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende has become a pillar of the Latin American writing community as both a women artist and a writer of distinction. She is extremely deserving of a fan page and of an acknowledgement for the great works she has created and published. Having received countless awards and honors for her work, Isabel Allende has reached readers within her home country and around the world.

Originating in Peru, Allende also has strong family ties to Chile as her father was a Chilean diplomat and her uncle, Salvador Allende, was the Chilean President. Numerous stories of Allende’s revolve around her own culture and the experiences she has had from her place within a family of power. Allende’s first novel, The House of The Spirits, was written during her exile from Chile after the assassination of her uncle. Having received numerous threats, Allende and her family found it to be too dangerous to continue a life in Chile and fled to Peru. The House of the Spirits follows many successive generations of a family in a South American country where they face political and personal battles and dilemmas. The novel began as a letter to her sick uncle, but eventually turned into a novel that was based off of Allende’s own memories of her life in Chile and the political issues they had to face.

Throughout the novel, The House of the Spirits, a theme of matrilineal control can be seen. The novel focuses on three generations of a family, but primarily the main characters of Clara, Blanca and Alba. The men and their children come secondary to these women. The novel goes into great detail on the ways and events that are purely woman in nature including child birth, emotional tragedies such as when Clara looks to complete her mother’s grave after learning of her decapitation, and passionate love such as that between Ferula and Clara. This theme could possibly have been used to show a cultural representation of how Allende views power in her home society. The men use ways of battle, destroying governments, and creating new reigns of power. The women in the story on the other hand use more subtle tactics such as when Ferula cursed Esteban to eternal loneliness, when Clara refused to speak anymore to Esteban or when Alba was proclaimed to inspire great love in all. While the men’s power is seen to be won and lost repeatedly, the women’s is constant. They are home. They are stable. They are the true power within the generations.

One quote of Isabel Allende’s that particularly stuck out to me was “We only have what we give.” I believe that she uses this ideal in her novels to affect her culture and give to her community what she sees from experience in a family of power. Through the theme of matrilineal control, Allende shows in her novel that the turmoils of home and political life do not have to always end in conflict. She shows that under an outward appearance of violence, the pillar of woman is supporting the family and that with this strength peace can be found.

References:

Lewis, Jone. “Isabel Allende.” About.com: Women’s History. 2009. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/writers20th/p/isabel_allende.htm.