House Of Spirits Women

1. Introduction
- Begin by asking the class to discuss the question of “In what ways do you think women are shown injustices today?”
- Brief introduction to the topic. - Slide of image of the question 2. Discuss ways female characters in The House of Spirits face social injustice with class. - Slide with bullet points different ways
- Suffer traditional & Customary pressures
- Gender roles and expectations
3. Transition:
Thesis: How does Allende and Esquivel challenge the typical notion of the submissive woman and their role within society
- Focus of two characters: o Clara – House of Spirits o Mama Elena – Like Water for Chocolate
- These women are matriarchs: strong, powerful independent, and outspoken; not afraid to challenge authority

Second character discussion: Mama Elena (in comparison to Clara)
• Introduce and give a brief summary of the book “Like Water for Chocolate
• Esquivel depicts Mama Elena as being very dominate
• Read quote: Mama Elena’s husband passes away in the beginning of the novel, the “enormous responsibility of running the ranch” passes on to Mama Elena (Esquivel 6)
• In contrast to Clara, Mama Elena is seen as the adversary of the novel; she is very harsh
• Similarities: Both have supernatural abilities;
• Elena continues to criticize her youngest daughter Tina even after she dies.
• Read Quote: In response to a mistake, Mama Elena scold Tita with “Listen to me, Tita. You are trying my patience. I won’t let you start acting crazy. This is the first and the last time for craziness! Or you will be sorry, I promise you that” (Esquivel 29). o Analysis: While Clara is gentile, Mama Elena is very harsh and assertive o Emphasizes Elena as an authoritive character o Mama Elena rules her household through fear
• Wrap up: Author also uses Mama Elena to critique authoritarianism to emphasize the patriarchal dominance that she challenges. Slide with Book cover and author

-Slide with quotes; analysis