In the novel The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende, love binds the Trueba family.
Esteban, the head of the household, and his granddaughter Alba's relationship is based on loneliness and the need for care, an example of familial love because it gives them comfort and peace. Allende is saying that love is able to motivate and guide a person to a better life, even if Esteban surrendered to anger and violence in the past.
As an old man, Esteban feels that he has “been left all alone and [his] body and soul are shriveling up. All that’s left for [him] is to die like a dog” (Chapter 10). Esteban realizes that he is helpless and has no one despite his hard work and political power. As a man who once moved mountains, he is insecure about his age and shrinking size. In addition, his family relation is worsening due to his uncontrollable and poor temper. All the factors cause Esteban to feel loneliness and despair.
On the other hand, Alba grew up in a loud household, with a lot of different people who would come and go at their convenience. The constant change of surroundings caused Alba to search for one thing that could stay constant. Oftentimes, the father can provide that feeling of consistency. Since she is fatherless it is tough for her to find a replacement. The influence of her surroundings caused “Alba [to have] nightmares of her father’s death ... She dreamt about him so many times that years later it came as a surprise when she was called to the central morgue to identify the body of the man she thought must be her father” (Chapter 9). Alba projects her inability to find stability through her dreams. The death of her father represents Alba’s fear of losing her chance to connect with him. It is even harder for her to then go and see her dreams become reality. There is no doubt that Alba would feel lonely and betrayed by her dad after he abandoned her and then died. Not to mention the fact that he was not her actual father, but an imposter.
Alba has to endure a lot of lies and death during her childhood, which explains her attachment to Esteban. Although Esteban is not as close to his daughter Blanca, he loves her daughter, Alba. They share a strong, familial bond, and are able to maintain their ties during hardship. The reason is because Alba uses Esteban as a safety net when she needs to get out of a sticky situation. When Alba was sexually harassed by her stepbrother, Esteban “stretched his arms out to his granddaughter and she ran to him for cover” (Chapter 9). Alba loves Esteban because he was there for her during childhood. He was the only one with the power to get Alba out of danger, and spoil her with presents. He served as a father figure to Alba because he could protect her. Alba has a poor mother, but her mother’s “poverty contrasted with embroidered dresses and custom made shoes in which Senator Trueba dressed his granddaughter Alba” (chapter 9).
Esteban provides for Alba and gives her a good life. If not for Esteban, Alba would live in poverty without a secure connection to a male guardian. Alba never had a real father. When Blanca mentioned that Alba has Pedro Tercero Garcia's eyes it “was the only time anyone ever mentioned Alba’s origin within the family, because, as Clara noted, the issue was irrelevant since Jean de Satigny had disappeared from their life” (Chapter 9). Alba has never known a real father in her childhood. Both Jean and Pedro have been absent. That is why Esteban becomes the only reliable male figure in Alba’s life. As a result, when Esteban becomes the reason why Alba cannot see her twin uncles Jaime and Nicolas, she “blamed her grandfather for what had taken place, but then, seeing him hunched in his armchair calling out to Clara and his son in an interminable murmur, her love for the old man returned and she ran to embrace him” (Chapter 9). The fact that Alba finds it in herself to love him despite his actions proves that Alba needs Esteban. Alba will show affection and love for him, even in the time of a disagreement because she is repaying him for the protection he gave her when she was a child.
In Alba’s younger life, “Every morning, still in her pajamas, she went to her grandfather’s room. She entered without knocking and climbed into his bed. He would pretend to wake up with a start, even though he was actually expecting her, and growled that she should not disturb him and that she should go back to her room and let him sleep ... Those morning games satisfied the senator's need for human contact” (Chapter 9). Their relationship is consistent and close. Alba and Esteban genuinely love each other and understand each other's needs. They are able to maneuver throughout the day with ease because of their playful routine. Those moments give them what they need most; for Alba it is consistent company, and for Esteban it is a genuine loving relationship.
Esteban says that when Alba went to Clara’s funeral, she, “[held] on to my hand ... watched the coffin being lowered into the earth” (Chapter 10). Allende uses imagery to show that Alba needs Esteban’s support during a tragic moment. Alba automatically reaches for Esteban’s hand because she knows that he is able to support her as he always does. Alba feels comforted by her grandfather, and she will repay him with love in the future. It is a never-ending cycle that is built on support and trust, which makes it reliable.
In contrast to her uncles and fathers, who gave Alba motorcycle rides, taught her to endure pain, made her feel uneasy, or abandoned her in childhood, Esteban was the only source of peace and comfort for Alba. “Esteban Trueba would recall those moments with his granddaughter as the happiest of his whole existence. Alba, too, remembered the complicity of those trips to the country holding on to her grandfather’s hand ... the long nights beside the living room fireplace telling ghost stories and drawing pictures” (Chapter 9). Alba was able to make a meaningful and reliable connection with Esteban because of their time spent together. Esteban was the only one with enough power and money to provide Alba with a good life. Eventually, Trueba becomes the only stable and reliable male figure in Alba’s life, which makes him the best candidate as Alba’s father than anyone else in the family.
In the novel, Esteban is the representation of patriarchal oppression and oligarchy, but despite his anger and violence, Esteban “had finally come to accept—beaten into it by the tide of new ideas— that not all women were complete idiots, and he believed that Alba, who was too plain to attract a well-to-do husband, could enter one of the professions and make her living like a man” (Chapter 10). Alba and Esteban could not be more different from each other because of their age and political opinions. Alba represents feminine strength and standing up to oppression. Esteban is only able to change his worldview when his granddaughter shows him love that later on brings him peace and comfort. Through Esteban and Alba, Allende underlines the transforming power of true relationships.
In the novel, love guides and motivates people. Allende is saying that love is “without a doubt the most powerful emotion of [Esteban’s] life, greater by far than his rage and pride” (Chapter 4). Esteban is the most violent and angry man in the Trueba family. However, love changes Esteban and brings him inner peace. Alba guides Esteban with love ,which alters his worldview. When Esteban Trueba tries to leave without being seen by journalists after a controversy, Alba is troubled about her grandfather, so “she ran to greet him. They hugged each other tightly and she whispered something in his ear, which apparently made Senator Trueba regain his dignity, for he raised his head and smiled with his old pride into the lights of the camera” (Chapter 12). Allende is saying that love is a powerful way to fight against oppression. As a man with a lot of power, Esteban is afraid of being seen as weak, so he feels tremendous shame when the press catches him at his vulnerable moment. However, when Esteban receives love from Alba he is able to regain his pride and rise up against his fear of shame.
Alba’s love gives him confidence to move on, and face the world. Esteban inspires Alba in return. "My grandfather and I walked arm in arm through the house, stopping in each place to remember the past ... It was my grandfather who had the idea that we should write this story. 'That way you'll be able to take your roots with you if you ever have to leave, my dear” (Chapter 14). In order to remember the good and the bad of the past, Alba records every moment of her family with the help of her grandfather. In a way, their relationship motivated the beginning of this enchanting story. Their relationship eventually guided them to the ultimate solution of their lives: record their family’s moments of hardship and comfort, loneliness and care, and helplessness and motivation. The loneliest and toughest moments of one’s life guide Esteban to peaceful solutions.
The oppressed are able to change the world one grandfather at a time, with love, support and care.
Alesia Brovtcyna is a first-year Animation major at the School of Visual Arts. "I love studying languages and cultures and mixing them together, because they enrich my artwork and make my stories unique and personal," Alesia says. "I cannot change the past, but I will change the future through my art."