What I mean by this. Nibbling at the edges of my conscience as I read this book is the conviction that the way the fantastical progresses the story is by exposing the characters' insides through nonchalantly ascribing bizarre characteristics to their external reality. Rosa is a green haired mermaid, splendid even in death (27). Clara has sensitive spirits congregating around her (74), interprets dreams (75), predicts the future (76), intuits other people's desires/emotions (95), and has an elusive, "undefined and luminous material" within her that drives her possessive husband to distraction. She is elsewhere, even in the most intimate moments. Both Rosa and Clara are cast as spirits themselves through being described both physically and personality wise as ethereal. Barrabas, the monstrous dog arrives into the story and dies under mysterious circumstances...with an unexplained dagger in his back (91). He adds an element of the weird to the illustration of Clara's childhood and early adulthood. Esteban's mother, Dona Ester is last seen as a mountain of rotting flesh, dying in a bed of pain (86) and Clara's first daughter Blanca is born monstrous too, lika a hydatidiform mole come to life (101). The only main character that is described as relatively normal looking is Esteban...and he really is a monster/freak, ethically speaking, given the way he treats people, especially peasant women. Unless, of course, his rampant concupiscence can be interpreted as his bizarre characteristic. In any case, what I realize is that the effectiveness of this descriptive style lies in its ability to set the story on the edge of believable, realistic experience. Aside from the spirits that keep getting mentioned but whom we never really meet, all these descriptions could be real...they just make the story taste really weird (in a good way, in my opinion).
Aryana
I agree with you Aryana in that the descriptive style of these fantastical details really does allow the story to progress as real ans natural while it is fully bizarre. This is the type of book I would attribute to magical realism and I have fallen in love with it!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to find how post an individual posting so here goes mine. Throughout the first hundred two pages of this novel, I could not help noticing the differences in attitudes and behaviors between men and women in the society.
ReplyDelete"'I would like to have been born a man, so I could leave too,' she said, full of hatred.
'And I would have not liked to be a woman,' he said." (45)
Later in the novel, the gender roles are displayed through Pancha Garcia.
"He simply used her as a hygienic method for relieving the tensions of the day and obtaining a good night's sleep. But the moment came when Pancha's pregnancy was obvious even to him." (62)
I also agree with Aryana about how Allende exposes us to a different culture.
In the quote, "The fasting consisted of soft puff pastries, delicious vegetarian dishes, spongy tortillas, and enormous cheeses from the countryside, with which each family commemorated the Passion of the Lord, taking every precaution not to touch the least morsel of meator fish on pain of excommunication." (2)
Allende introduces us to a different kind of fasting. From my background, I think of reflection and starvation when I hear the word "fasting" but when I read this quote, was aware of the difference in cultural context from my world and that of the novel. What may seem to be obsurd to me such as the poor treatment of women in the society may very well be seem as normal.
HI Tiffany. You post at the top of the page in the left hand corner where it says New Post. I can copy and paste your post to the main page so everyone notices it!
ReplyDelete