The House Of The Spirits Analysis

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The prevalence of violence in The House of the Spirits is immediately palpable. Many wide-ranging acts of brutality transpire over the extensive amount of time covered. The addition of the large scale violent acts draws most of the attention of the reader, but it’s the small incidents that shed light on the wide spread epidemic of violence that seeps into every pore of The House Of The Spirits. The relentless addition of small happenings to all pages proves to be grueling. Reference in the book plays a large role. Whether it is foreshadowing or conversation of characters that is not presented as dialoge, but rather hinted at in different points of the story, referenced moments enhance understanding. Many instances of referenced conversation show hidden …show more content…

“ He grabbed his wife by the arm and Clara by the neck and walked out dragging them behind him with enormous strides,” pg 8. This being one of the few aggressive moments at the hands of Severo it is clear he is not a violent person at heart but the addition of even a minuscule violent act shows The House of the Spirits focus on violence at its core. The focus on violence in The House of the Spirits extends into all essences of the story, not limiting its self to the characters. Instances of this include Miguel’ s tellings of the horrors of war which is not oppressed upon the characters in the story through is mentioned, and the crimes that occur due to the devastating earthquake. Another instance of this comes from the prospective of Jaime in his days as a doctor.
“He tried not to think of all the women he had seen in the emergency room, those he had helped to save in this very examining room, and those who had died in these very beds, white as sheets, with rivers of blood flowing between their legs and his science powerless to stop their life from running out of that open faucet.” Pg

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