There are many similarities as well as differences between House of the Spirits and Volver. Both indicate some form of the way people lived and did things in Latin America during a specific time period. The movie as well as the book fully display the character of men, women, and society in general. Striking similarities arise with respect to men, women, and magical realism.
When comparing the men they act just about the same in Volver as the do in The House of the Spirits. “Men, for Raimunda and her circle, tend to be malevolent, irrelevant or simply absent” (Scott 39). Judging by Volver and The House of the Spirits the men seem to be very violent, demanding, and unloved. For example, in HOS Esteban frequently throws tantrums and beats the women in his family when he is mad, and in Volver Paco tries to rape Paula. When Paco dies nobody really cares or mourns, and the same will most likely happen to Esteban. This fact just further proves the men in these societies are virtually unloved.
Just as the men are very similar, the women have many similarities as well. The women in Volver and HOS are very independent. When Paco dies the women don’t panic at all. “Paco ends up on the kitchen floor, his arms and legs splayed in an uncanny reminder of the body on the poster of Preminger’s “Anatomy of a Murder.” (Ebert 17). Clara and the women associated with her family are also very independent. If Esteban died they’d be fine mostly because a lot of the women’s troubles in the novel are because of men.
Magical realism is evident in both the movie and the book. Clara and the Three Mora sisters are a good example of the magical realism in the novel. Most of their time is taken up by reading the future, watching a three legged table, and hovering around in chairs. In Volver the mother comes back from the dead as everyone believes. Raimunda uses her mom coming back from the dead to escape her troubles and the harsh reality of her life just as Clara finds refuge in her magical interests.
Works Cited
Scott, A. O. “The Darkest of Troubles in the Brightest of Colors.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2006. Web. 09 Sept. 2016.
Ebert, Roger. “Volver Movie Review & Film Summary (2006) | Roger Ebert.” All Content. N.p., 2006. Web
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I really enjoyed the similarities you made between the two pieces. I made the same comment in my post and I really liked the way you added the critics quote so it supported what you were saying. I also think another major thing you mentioned was the independent nature of the women in the two pieces.
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I feel the comparisons you made between the men in the two stories are very accurate. Both men in The House of the Spirits and Volver are very self involved and wretched. The way the women handle it is very similar as well. They don’t take any funny business, and carry themselves with grace. Overall great post!
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Great post. Overall, most of the men in both stories are meant to magnify the theme that people have to find something in order to cope with everything wrong in their lives. In these cases, woman are the main heroes and tend to work through their problems.
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I really like how in your comparisons of the male characters in both movie and book, you pointed out that they are unloved. Its definitely true, and I think it relates to how you wrote that the women are independent, and how they are fine with the mens’ deaths because the men are the source of their problems. I guess the mens’ behavior is the source for both them being unloved, and the women’s independence. This was something I never thought of before. You did a great job!
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