Esteban Trueba Character Analysis

Heather Barker
Ms. Johnson
English II
March 17, 2014
The House Of The Spirits
Anger is developed throughout The House Of The Spirits when characters become so infuriated with one another that it clouds their judgment, incites violence, and even pushes them to seek revenge. “Allende weaves violence and anger throughout The House of the Spirits in a manner that makes sure to highlight its senselessness while fully acknowledging its inevitability.” says Tania Asnes. Anger is defined as a normal emotion with a wide range of intensity, from mild irritation and frustration, to rage. It is a reaction to a perceived threat to ourselves, our loved ones, our property, our self-image, or some part of our identity. According to the Public Broadcasting
Esteban Trueba’s livid and envious behavior destroys the lives of people around him, including his own, and as the story goes on, his anger progressively gets worse. While one would think some of the hardships he has had to endure, such as Rosa dying or breaking every bone in his body, would improve his character and cause him to be more sympathetic, it doesn’t. In some instances in the book, Esteban becomes so out of control that he forces people out of his life. Esteban is compulsive, aggressive, and acquisitive. “His downfall is due to his personal hubris because he let his pride and arrogance take away everything he has ever loved.” according to (StudyMode). Even from the beginning chapters of the book, Esteban’s character doesn’t give himself a good name. He rapes the peasant girls at Tres Marias, refuses to listen to his workers about why they do not like the way they are treated, and simply intolerant to those less fortunate than himself. He takes the same attitude toward women, wanting to possess Clara “absolutely, down to her last thought,” (Allende 177), and he even goes as far to say that a woman’s duty is “motherhood and the home” (Allende
He becomes angry, just like old times and starts smashing things with his cane. He calms down and a few short weeks after that, dies. “Alba calls the family 's history an endless tale of “sorrow, love, and blood” because for them, joy, pleasure, and love are inseparable from their counterparts of sadness, pain, and hatred.” says Jordan Berkow. Alba looks at the events that have happened in her life to be for a reason, and that her fate was decided long before her birth. Alba does not want to get back at the people who treated her wrong, and for the first time throughout the entire novel, the circle of vengeance and anger is