False security for House of Spirits and House of Bernarda Alba

IB English A1 SL

Mr. Peterson

World Literature

Medora Choi

Lorca’s the House of Bernarda Alba and Isabel Allende’s the House of Spirits invites the reader to believe that Bernarda Alba provide false security for her daughters while Esteban Trueba provide false security for Clara which in the end creates distance between themselves instead of bringing them closer.

In “The House of Bernarda Alba” by Lorca and “The House of Spirits” by Isabel Allende leads the reader to consider the possibility that Bernarda Alba provide false security for her daughters while Esteban Trueba provide false security for Clara which in the end does not create a stronger bond but instead, distance between themselves. Isabel Allende and Lorca both express that characters that provide what he or she believes is security does not necessarily protect the ones they love.

In the House of Spirits, Esteban Trueba has built a community in Three Marias all by himself and throughout the novel, it is clear that he has changed from a nobody to a somebody evidently from the ownership of Tres Marias. However, he believes that wealth provides security for Clara when in fact, the more desperate he reveals, the further the gap between Clara and him. For Esteban, marriage, children, prosperity and power is the solution to happiness and security to him. However, he struggles to achieve a successful marriage due to his incapability to compromise, his violent and destructive temper, and most of all, his arrogance, which sums up as a lethal weapon that leads slowly his road to ruin. It is only natural that the readers lose their empathy towards Esteban Trueba. “I tried everything from showering praises and gifts to threatening to knock down the door and beat her to a pulp but none of these effects the bridge the gap between us.” (180) This justifies the reason why Esteban provides false security as Clara is not a materialistic woman and hence Esteban cannot have a solid and stable relationship with Clara. Esteban does not understand that Clara has already lost interest in him as his monstrous short-tempers and accumulating needs eventually overwhelms him. “I always think of you, Ferula, because the truth is that since you left me no one has ever loved me as you did.” (152) When Clara said this, it means that Clara enjoyed the way Ferula loved her and that no one can replace that love. Therefore, no matter how hard Esteban tries, he will never win her love as the security he provides is not the security she wants. As Esteban thought driving away Ferula from his house can bring his relationship between Clara closer, on the contrary, Clara keeps a certain gap as she already lost the spark in her, the spark which Ferula kept it alive when she was living with Clara. “I was convinced she didn’t love me” (180) Clara is special because she cannot be owned, she is not a property and she does not belong to anyone but her. This is shown when Esteban eventually gave up on trying to strengthen their bond and stops pleasing her by showering her with gifts. This proves that although they are one of the wealthiest families in Three Marias, the false security which he believes is materialistic items leads to a weak, vulnerable and dying relationship. “The more distant Clara became, the more I needed her love. Her spirit wasn’t with me.” (177) This evidently shows the fact that Esteban believes his sense of security by buying her gifts can eventually bring Clara close to her, reflects the shallowness of Esteban’s thinking because since Clara’s spirit is not with him,

it is almost impossible for him to catch her attention.

As Clara slowly changed and tries to avoid Esteban after the earthquake, the more he needed her love, providing her false security, hence, his overwhelming personality drove Clara further away from him. “I could see that she was pulling away from me. She had no compassion for my suffering, and I realized that she was avoiding me.” (176) This quote shows that Clara changed from Esteban’s constant tantrums, his idea of false security created space between them and it proves that although Esteban tried to use sweet words and open ...

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it is almost impossible for him to catch her attention.

Although Bernarda believes that what she is doing for her daughters is keeping them safe and secure, it does the opposite as it is a false security. The daughters become rebellious and began to keep distance from their mother. “Amelia gets up, runs, looks through the door. Ay, I thought mother was coming.” (179) This shows their fear for their mother is so great they transformed the walls in the rooms of the house into barriers. Due to the constant false security, the daughters are constantly oppressed by their mother, and in the end, Adela acts out her individualism and commits suicide in this god forsaken house. Thus, Bernarda’s “protection” for her daughters has become controlling and patrolling, making the daughters fear for her and never feel secure in any way in the house. This proves that the false security will cause only rebellious behavior, the daughters will try to leave their mother instead of giving her loyalty and love. “I’d rather carry sacks to the mill. Anything except sit here day after day in this dark room.” (165) When Magdalena said this, it reflects upon how she cannot stand her own home, the fact that she uses the word “dark” not only means the room is literally dark, it also signifies the darkness in the room spiritually. As the marriage is the only solution to freedom, once she said she knows she will not be marrying, she believes she will be trapped in what is called a home but more like a prison as it is surrounded by tall walls. “None of them has ever had a beau and they’ve never needed one! They get along very well……The men in this town is not of their class” (168) The confidence in Bernarda’s tone shows what she believes is right to an extent what she says is almost like a rule. Poncia in this story somehow provides joy entertainment in the home for the daughters, the more Bernarda disagrees with Poncia, the closer the daughters are with their relationship between Poncia.

Through the two novel’s relationships between the characters, Isabelle Allende and Lorca give “false security” its shape and meaning. It is almost like a dark force of security, the security the one doesn’t feel safe but trapped, it is the shape of a cube, impossible to escape. The authors in a way shows that no one can have everything, if the characters want power, then he or she will have to give up on love and vice versa.

False security for House of Spirits and House of Bernarda Alba

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