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Isabel Allende's “Daughter of Fortune” and “The Judge's Wife”

Introduction

Isabel Allende was born in 1942 in Peru and was raised in Chile. Her writing truly represents the culture, tradition, landscapes and issues of Chile. Her writings talk about the world of spirits, political changes of Chile and role of women in society. In order to understand what she thinks of the world and how she perceived the roles of people living in it can best understood by going through her books. Owing to this fact, her two stories, the “Daughter of Fortune” and “The Judge's Wife” will be analyzed and discussed in this paper.

Discussion

Daughter of Fortune

Theme of Love

Love, deceit, secrets, passion, death and opportunities were important themes in this novel that describes much of what happened in the novel (Novella, pp. 61-63). The novel is about the boundless love that can get to anything, and this is an extreme case where Eliza falls for Joaquin Andieta which, migrated to California at the time of the gold rush (Swanson, pp. 57-67), for best life expectancy and to marry Eliza among other plans, Eliza not happy with that and not thinking twice, going to California in search of her boyfriend to marry and live the rest of life with him. She travels as she pleases, though she still searches for her lover. As Eliza matures, she comes to know herself—and she loses her obsession with Joaquín, whom she never really knew. Instead, she gains a sense of individuality and an understanding of true friendship and love. In her friend Tao, she finds the steadfast affection of a lover; in turn, in Eliza, Tao finds strength and love (Allende, pp. n.d.).

In announcing “I am free” and holding tightly to Tao's hand, Eliza has abandoned her grasp on a restrictive, barren past and is taking hold of the possibilities inherent in her and in her future. Eliza also aggressively reclaims her femininity, exploring the sight, feel, and smell of her naked body in lieu of an expected love scene with Tao. Eliza appreciates her body and her own identity, and she again adopts female dress—though without the imprisoning corset. Eliza has come to terms with herself as a woman, and she has seized freedom and love, concurrent possibilities in the undefined world of California (Swanson, pp. 57-67), but not in her socially restricted Chilean birthplace (Allende, pp. n.d.). In a disparate world characterized equally by crime and salvation, Allende's Eliza in Daughter of Fortune has integrated her femininity with her desire for liberty and love.

As some critics have complained, the book ends with uncertainty (Novella, pp. 61-63). Tao and Eliza do not significantly explore their relationship; there are only hints throughout the book to suggest that they do, indeed, come to any mutual understanding of their love for each other. Significantly, too, Allende never reveals whether or not Eliza actually finds Joaquín Andieta in the decapitated head of Joaquín Murieta. Eliza herself does not state that the two are ...