Allende's novel The House of the Spirits is a feminist novel because she highlights through her female characters, the struggle for woman in a patriarchal society. This novel is centered around the four generations of woman who are the main characters, their husbands and the men they love are important, but are only secondary characters. These women; Nivea, Clara, Blanca, and Alba, subtly work in their own ways to assert their rights. Experiences particularly central to the lives of the women dominate the events in the story, such as the detailed descriptions of each childbirth and the abortion, as well as physical and sexual violence against women.
Although most of the woman from the novel The House of the Spirits choose subtle ways to assert their rights, Nivea asserts them in not quite as subtle ways. Nivea fights not only for her own rights, but she fights for the rights of woman throughout her country. "She shared her husband's parliamentary ambitions, hoping that if he won a seat in congress she would finally secure the vote for woman, for which she had fought for the past ten years, permitting none of her numerous pregnancies to get in the way." Nivea defies the traditional gender role with her commitment to woman suffrage movements, which is female empowerment that men would not typically allow, she also submits to traditional gender roles by being a good wife and loving mother.
Clara, the daughter of NIvea, may be the most important character in this novel. She uses methods of resistance that could be seen as particularly feminine compared to Nivea's actions regarding woman suffrage. She uses gentle and non-violent ways, such as her love and her predictions, to deal with situations. She inspires great respect and devotion in all those who meet her, including her husband, Esteban. After Esteban, hits her, she never talks to him again. "I think people were afraid of me." Esteban admits, "Even Clara,.. who never dreaded my temper, walked around half terrified." Although Clara became afraid of her husband, and also stops speaking to him in order to make the point that his violence is intolerable, she continues to maintain a civil relationship with him until her death. Clara deals with all situations in a typically female manor but is outside of a traditional gender role in someways such as hardly being aware of the material world.
Blanca, the daughter of Clara, was very close to her mother. When Blanca is young they go to Tres Maria to spend the summer. Blanca meets Pedro Tercero Garcia, the son of the ranch foreman, they become instantly good friends, and after some time they fall in love. The two of the have a secret relationship, hidden because Blanca's father Esteban Trueba and Pedro Tercero disagree in their political views. Their relationship is revealed and they are forced to separate for a while. During that time period Blanca is forced to marry a man named Jean de Satigny. Blanca doesn't love this man whom she married and he tells her that he has "no particular inclination for married life", he only married her for her fathers money and to get connected with his business. Their arranged marriage is a great example of female oppression. Blanca leaves her husband because she finds out about his strange sexual habits and goes to her parents house, right before she gave birth to her and Pedro Tercero's daughter Alba. Blanca continues to meeting Pedro Tercero but doesn't run away with him for many years during which "She lacked the freedom of an unmarried woman and had all the limitations of a married one even though she had no husband.", but eventually she got a official divorce and went to live with her true love, Pedro Tercero.
Alba grows up and she falls in love with a man named Miguel. Their love seems to a predetermined destiny, like the loves of the three generations of woman before her. Alba opposes her grandfathers will and supports the revolution with Miguel. Alba becomes hated by her grandfather's son, Esteban Garcia because he is jealous of the affection that her grandfather gives her. Esteban Garcia ends up raping and torturing Alba. Afterwards, In order to, as Alba puts it "reclaim the past and overcome terrors of my own", she convinces her grandfather to write the story of their family.
This novel having taken place in a time when the men had authority over the women, there are many sexist things that occur throughout the book. Some of the things that I noticed were that not all woman had educations, there were arranged marriages, women couldn't vote, and that there wasn't any birth control available. Each of the woman's life's are marked by the gender inequality, however, the woman in The House of the Spirits are strong women who don't tolerate being mistreated. They choose to respond to situations in subtle ways rather than responding through violence like the men do, which proves to be very effective. The women's methods of dealing with situations and fighting for their rights bring more important, long-lasting changes than the changes brought by the men. Because of how this novel is focused on the woman and their struggles in a male dominated society, and the male characters not being of much importance other than being the woman's husband or lover, The House of the Spirits, is a very feminist novel.
