The House of Spirits Final Paper

The House of Spirits Final Paper Sacrifice is seen in The House of Spirits in a variety of contexts and characters. Jaime refuses to betray the president and is tortured and killed. Nivea is a suffragette and Blanca marries Jean de Satigny to protect her father’s reputation. These are examples of sacrifices for others, but the majority of the sacrifices made in this novel are not made for others’ benefit. Through these numerous sacrifices, it is clear that Allende’s view of sacrifice is that it is often superficial and meaningless and is intended for personal gain and not for the betterment of mankind.

For example, Ferula develops a strong obsession with Clara and treats her almost like queen for that reason. “Ferula’s affection for her sister-in-law became a passion, a dedication to waiting on her and caring for her and an unlimited tolerance for her distractions and eccentricities… She bathed her in jasmine and basil water, rubbed her with cologne, powdered her with a swan’s-down puff, and brushed her hair until it was as soft and shiny as an underwater plant, just as Nana had done before” (97). Clara did not need to be taken care of so dearly. Ferula could have easily taken care of one of the less fortunate people she helped sometimes the way she took care of Clara, seeing how they would probably need the care a lot more. Also, Ferula’s motives for taking care of Clara initially weren’t specifically because Clara needed the help.”She was afraid of ending her days crocheting in some nursing home for spinsters from good families; thus she was overjoyed to learn that Clara was incompetent when it came to the simplest domestic tasks…” (94). So Ferula really only had her best interests at heart by moving in with Clara and Esteban. Allende was clearly trying to convey the message of sacrifice being superficial through Ferula.

Another example of where sacrifice was only intended for personal gain was when Esteban Garcia told Esteban Trueba where Pedro Tercero...