House of the Spirits Character Comparison

Journal 5:

Elaborate on the functions of Ferula, Nana, the Count, and Esteban Garcia, using a compare and contrast format.

The characters Ferula, Nana, the Count, and Esteban Garcia, in the novel The House of the Spirits all have similar functions throughout the novel but they express them in different ways. Ferula and Nana are more alike because they have motherly skills and they like to care for others, while the Count and Esteban Garcia are distinctly more similar than the other because of the male chauvinist attitudes and the need to always have what they want.

Ferula was Esteban Trueba's sister, she had spent her life caring for their sick mother. Then after her mother died she became very sick and bitter towards a lot of things because she is used to caring for someone else. After Esteban finds out about their mother passed away her took Ferula into Clara and his home. There she took over most of the maternal duties, cooking, cleaning, and giving advice. Over time Clara and her became very close, which formed an unknown bond between them. Ferula became obsessed with Clara to the point that Esteban kicks her out of the house for being to close to his wife. Ferula gave off the vibe that she wanted more in life than what it was giving her but she didn't want it for herself, she liked not having much, which explains why she didn't accept the money that Esteban sent to her after he kicked her out. Ferula relied on helping others to keep her going.

Nana was an Indian caretaker for the del Valle family in the beginning of the novel then became a caretaker at the Trueba's house. Nana was a motherly figure to Rosa and Clara and even Severo del Valle after Rosa's death. She was an important member of the del V...

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...onship she wants Clara all to herself. Nana represents strength, because she had been through so much with both families that she grew stronger as they grew stronger she fed off of their strengths and weaknesses. The Count represented selfishness, because he told many lies to Blanca trying to keep his room a secret. He only wanted what was best for him, everything revolved around him and his dream. Esteban Garcia represented vengeance, he was very vengeful throughout the novel. Even when it wasn't his vengeance to seek he took it from others. His way of seeking vengeance was to repeat what had already happened in the past. Each of the characters have their own functions in the novel some extend farther through the novel than others but each had a function which lead to the next. Everything came together in the end of the novel. The end is only the beginning.