2nd Research Posts 2009                      LITR 5731 Colonial-Postcolonial Literature

Chrisoula Mouliatis

21 November 2009

Isabel Allende and the Importance of the Female Voice

            Identity has been an important issue of colonial-postcolonial literature. We have been able to see through colonial-postcolonial texts that loss of one’s culture is a key theme, and the search for and establishing of identity is what makes us appreciate history through literature because it is something with which we can sympathize. Jamaica Kincaid is a woman who heightened my interested in the female voice biting back at the colonizer. Not only is she speaking out for the colonized and the effects it has had on a society ripped of its tradition, but she is speaking out for women who are made aware that they are living in a male-dominated world. Isabel Allende is also aware of this hierarchy and understands that with colonization comes “a great need to look at ourselves in the mirror and find a face that resembles our own” (Wellington 149). She is a Chilean author who writes about women struggling in a Latin society, but she gives her protagonists a voice. Critics of Allende and her work agree that she exploits patriarchy, she understands life’s struggles, and she accurately depicts the life of women living in a postcolonial world. Colonialism is a big part of American history, but the search for female identity is constant and still present today. Through literature, we can better understand history and acknowledge that colonialism had its share of negative effects. Do we deny then that it was necessary or inevitable? There are many ways to answer that question, right and wrong, but what about patriarchy and the inequality between men and women? How do we address that issue and what excuses can be made for the hushing of women’s voices and the putting aside of their problems for centuries now? What kind of impact do writers like Allende have on society as a whole, but more specifically are the men in this world listening? With Allende’s work being in Oprah’s book club, it is highly unlikely.

            Allende’s novels highlight the female perspective, and she makes it evident in her fiction that a woman’s voice can be heard in many different ways. Not only is the female voice evident, but its presence helps define the characters’ self. In her books The House of Spirits, Eva Luna, and Daughter of Fortune, Allende provides her readers with a heroine who breaks many boundaries, not just ones associated with gender. In her own life, Allende has dealt with oppression and obstacles, but has maintained a voice in the literary world. There is always the distinction between an author’s real life experience and the experiences she creates for her characters. She asserts that her creative outlet would be limited were it not for her own life’s tragedies. As an author, she is writing to make a living, to entertain, and to inform. So far in our course of study, what really struck me as intriguing is that many colonial-postcolonial writers seem to create their works of art unintentionally. It is as if they are writing an exaggerated version of their own lives, but placed a message inside that we, as finely tuned readers, are only able to grasp if we are lucky. Allende, in her own words, sees herself as a “storyteller, a very simple story teller. [She] picture[s] [her]self as those storytellers in Latin America or in Africa who go from one village to another and sit in the middle of the plaza and tell a story and the people gather around and listen” (Wellington 171). If this is her claim to success, it is well received and highly effective. In this way, the novel serves to teach us a little history, discretely sending us a message about women’s issues, all while entertaining us through a creative plot and strong characters.

            Another one of Allende’s tactics is the attainment of success portrayed by her female protagonists. The development of female identity is present in her novel with the use of the “feminist’s point of view, including memory, sexuality, magical realism, and other issues involving race, class, and gender relations” (Costa 72). The first three elements are what make Allende an artist. On the one hand, this is how she makes her success as a writer, through entertaining. On the other hand, the issues of race, class, and gender are what make her writing important for students and critics. It is the careful analysis of her works that distinguishes her from a “simple storyteller” to a woman breaking boundaries for other women. Unlike Kincaid, Allende creates characters to utilize her feminist agenda, but it is important to note that Allende does not exclude men from her idealized view of a woman’s world. In fact, “it is clear from a close analysis of the fate of the women characters in Allende’s novels that the most successful ones have the support of encouraging men” (Costa 73). Women’s issues are not something that can be resolved by women alone. It is the combined efforts of both men and women and the mutual respect between the two that will allow for equality amongst the sexes. Literature, Allende’s in particular, is another way that these issues come to light and can be addressed in a way that make the entire argument worthwhile.

            To conclude, in the brief examination of Isabel Allende’s works and criticism, I have discovered that the world that she creates through writing is one which is still considered idealized today. Considering women live in a male dominant society, it is difficult to imagine the establishment of the female identity without a fair share of struggles along the way. I have found that this course has made me appreciate history through literature and opened my eyes to the obstacles present in the 21^st century and how the search for identity will continue for men and women alike. The angst Kincaid felt towards the white man colonizing and ultimately ruining her Antiguan home is easy to sympathize with, but I find it hard to relate to her situation. Allende made it easier because her “feminist vision privileges the woman’s point of view in a male dominated society while proposing the desirability of achieving a self-constructed identity, above and beyond sexual differences and social conditioning” (Avendano 88).” She is proposing equality in a way that is relatable for humanity, not privileging one sex over the other. I can see Allende sitting in the middle of a group of people, telling her stories, and bringing people closer together. She touches on issues close to our hearts, but she still finds a way to take us out of our world and into hers. Colonial-postcolonial literature, intentional or not, has made its way into our classroom and onto our bookshelves because it fulfills more than our simple desire to be entertained by the novel.

Works Cited

Avendano, Nadia Dolores. “The Contemporary Female Bildungsroman in
       Angeles Mastretta, Isabel Allende, and Lucha Corpi." Dissertation Abstracts
       International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 64.5 (2003):
       1676.

Costa, Jeanine Luciana Lino. "Remember Me: Identity in Clarice Lispector,
       Isabel Allende, and Michelle Cliff." Dissertation Abstracts International,
       Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 67.5 (2006): 1722.

Duran, Gloria. "Women and Houses-from Poe to Allende." Confluencia: Revista
       Hispanica de Cultura y Literatura 6.2 (1991): 9-15.

Jenkins, Ruth Y. "Authorizing Female Voice and Experience: Ghosts and Spirits
       in Kingston's The Woman Warrior and Allende's The House of the Spirits."
       MELUS 19.3 (1994): 61-73.

Roof, Maria. "W. E. B. DuBois, Isabel Allende, and the Empowerment of Third
       World Women." College Language Association Journal 39.4 (1996): 401-
       416.

 Wellington, Ann Marie. "Flannery O'Connor and Isabel Allende: A Meeting of the
       Americas." Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities
       and Social Sciences 64.5 (2003): 1643.