Abuse In Esteban Trueba's The House Of The Spirits

Abuse also greatly impacts several of the characters, particularly female characters, in The House of the Spirits. The story begins with Rosa and detailed descriptions of her otherworldly and unique beauty. She lives in her own world in her head, unaware of all the attention that she receives because of her appearance. Despite this, she becomes the first character to die and experience sexual abuse which, marks the beginning of several more violent acts inflicted upon women in this family. However, even from the beginning of the novel, women in this family also exude strength, like Nivea who sets the precedent for the women who follow. In fact, historically, female goddesses predate male goddesses, which writers utilize in literature as they

In The House of the Spirits, the experience with abuse differs depending on the character, which partially occurs because of the possibility that several heroes exist in this novel. From the beginning of the novel, abuse occurs and foreshadows the immense amounts of suffering that the family will endure. However, Esteban Trueba narrates the story of Clara and Rosa’s family, his involvement, and the resulting consequences, therefore, he becomes one of the protagonists. However, much of the story also revolves around Clara, so, as the hero, her experience with abuse shifts because of her position as an abuse victim. As the abuser, Esteban experiences unbridled and unreasonable rage while his victims live in fear and in pain. Under his abuse, Clara possesses a silent strength as she leaves him with their daughter and punishes him in a way that hurts him greatly by refusing to speak to him, which serves as an important lesson that violence and aggression destroy relationships with loved ones due to the elements of fear and