The Trueba Legacy: Character Dynamics in The House of the Spirits
The Trueba Family: Patriarchy and Prophecy
Esteban Trueba: The Authoritarian Patriarch
Esteban Trueba, the only son of an impoverished oligarchic family due to the wastefulness of an alcoholic father, is forced to work from adolescence to recuperate his fortune by operating a mine in northern Mexico. That wealth allows him to retrieve the family farm, Las Tres Marías, where much of the story unfolds. Subsequently, he comes to occupy a seat as senator, embodying all the features of a conservative politician of the time.
Senator Trueba is consistently the holder of the family name, the strong man in adversity, the one who alone can bring order to the material world. He is of strong character and consistently has outbursts of anger, anxiety, and violence. He is macho and authoritarian, even believing he had the right to beat his wife, causing her to lose some teeth.
His ideological motivations lead him to organize the world and men in terms of ownership, since the world and men are conceived by him as objects. Entering the field based on the allegiance of the new organization, his role as lord and master authorizes him to commit the most brutal abuses, including the rape of women. The excess of authoritarianism imposed by Trueba may also be the cause of the unhappiness in love experienced by his descendants.
Esteban Trueba represents the social class whose loyalty is to the convictions of the past, with its strict hierarchical rules and prewritten behaviors. He never comes to recognize his mistakes, which is the reason for his failure and a source of pain.
The Role of Women: Creativity and Resilience
The women of The House of the Spirits possess a string of special qualities that are absent in the males: they are artists and creative, using their imagination to set private worlds away from the real context.
Clara del Valle Trueba: Spirituality and Intuition
Clara del Valle Trueba, the essential character of the novel, has a name that connotes clarity, openness, and intuition. She possesses a spiritual beauty and great patience. She symbolizes the goodness and humanity of the people; with her sensitivity and communication with other worlds, she represents feminine spirituality.
Unable to fit the traditional mold of the city, she escapes through her contacts with the spirit world. At Las Tres Marías, she practices charity and runs more mundane actions as a means of escape. Throughout her life, she was writing books which chronicled life, whose notes were later used by her granddaughter, Alba, to tell the family history.
Blanca Trueba: Independence and Social Defiance
Blanca fights prejudice and breaks down barriers between the poor class and the bourgeoisie—two facts unforgivable in the eyes of the bourgeoisie. Blanca’s struggle is a struggle against traditional values assigned to her gender by patriarchy:
- Virginity
- Chastity
- The sanctity of the marriage bond
The relationship between Blanca and Pedro Tercero is an important example of Blanca’s independence. She is not ashamed of being pregnant but not married. She is an independent woman who needs no man.
Alba Trueba: Resilience, Tragedy, and Reconstruction
Alba, according to the forecast made by her grandmother, Clara, was born with innate powers and therefore did not need to go to school. She grew up in the corner house with close ties bonding her with its members. Even before her birth, her grandmother decreed that she was blessed by the stars. She is described as small in size.
Alba represents the consolidation of the values and innovations of the other female characters. She is the most tragic female figure, raped, tortured, and imprisoned by the dictatorship. When Colonel García raped Alba, she represented all people who lose their identity or their life under the terror of a dictator.
Alba’s mission in life will be the reconstruction and preservation of peace against the distortion and abuse of power.