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April
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- Esteban and Clara
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April
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It is true we need to place both in our lives. With Esteban and Clara, when the two are together they appear to balance each other out. Both of them continue to support their ideas but both appear to mellow slightly. However, when they're seperated they tend to stay on the more extreme ends of their beliefs. (In the case of Esteban's attitude when seperated there's basically the entirety of chapter 2.) Admittedly this could simply be due to the author moving back and forth between the two which effectively shows how well the two can intermingle.
ReplyDeleteGreat points Jennifer. Continue to look for how they balance each other as well as how they react when separated.
ReplyDeleteEsteban and Clara, to me, appear to be somewhat of a Yin Yang. Clara is serene, compassionate and spiritual where as Esteban is quick tempered, cold and materialistic towards most. He maintains the intense desire to prove his worth and validate himself. Clara however, generally knowing her purpose and being a more relaxed spirit, is able to let herself float about hazily and still be loved. Singularly, Esteban and Clara are too extreme in their beings, where-as together, they can dilute the others intensity, making them more functional and bringing out the best in the other.
ReplyDelete~Haley
I believe you need both spiritual views, but you also need more realistic views in your life. Clara is more spiritual and believes in the more supernatural life, whereas Esteban believes in more realistic things, such as politics. I believe they balance each other out by having opposite views on life. Esteban is somewhat intrigued by Clara's spiritual views, but at the same time there differences are what drive them apart. Esteban can be cruel, vile, and downright hateful, when Clara is calm and relaxed and just sort of floats around without a care in the world. They bring out the best and worst in each other.
ReplyDeleteI believe Esteban and Clara create a balance in their relationship, although their ideas conflict quite a bit they each display two different extreme sides of a person. Esteban loves his wife and children but works very hard to ensure his family is materially comfortable, while Clara has a corresponding disregard for material items. I think Allende is showing us two different sides:spiritualistic and realistic and using Esteban and Clara as examples for the purpose of demonstrating this.
ReplyDeleteEsteban was a hard-working, not-afraid-to speak his mind kind of person. He was determined and would stop at nothing until he conquered what he wanted. Clara was a spoiled, sensitive woman who hadn't had to work one day in her life. She often took things for granted and she didn't appreciate what others did for her.
ReplyDeleteApart, these two seem like complete opposites who would never ever get along. But, they were actually two halves that fit together perfectly. Although they had some seriously rough times, these two characters never really lost their love for the other.
Esteban was a hard-working, determined person who worked his way up from poverty to wealth. He is never afraid to speak his mind and he is well-rounded educationally. He also keeps his word and acts the way he thinks is right. Clara was born into a wealthy family. She was given everything she could ever want and she tends to take things for granted. She also ignores most things around her and is very forgetful in nature.
ReplyDeleteThese two seem like complete opposites that wouldn't ever get along, but their not. These two people are perfect halves of eachother. They mellow eachother out and bring out the best in the other person. These two share a love that rivals Romeo and Juliet and, though they had some very rough times, their love doesn't end when their life does.
I found the relationship between Esteban and Clara to be very intense at times. The dynamics between them couldn't be anymore dlfferent, with Esteban's hot headed temper and Clara's calm and serene aura. As I'm reading the other posts above mine, I'm reading how much they love eachother and how it was perfect, ect., but I saw something else. I saw a crabby man who was a control freak in every aspect in life. I saw a dreamer who wasn't completely there all the time. This love was by no means perfect. The love was clear, yet sometimes was foggy with actions shown. In Esteban's case, he tried all he could to control Clara, to show her the love that he constantly wanted. Even the house is not the same to Esteban after Clara is gone, as seen in this quote. "Clara's death completely transformed life in the big house on the corner. Gone with her were the spirits and the guests, as well as the luinous gaieety that had always been present because she did not believe that the world was a vale of tears..."(pg. 295). Clara, on the otherhand, was less "showy" with her love, in fact it often seemed like she was completely unaware of the kind and lovely gestures towards her. It does not seem like neither Esteban nor Clara knew how to understand how the other loved them. While Esteban was looking for physical and materialistic love, Clara was looking for a spiritual partner. There are times when you can tell how much the one loves the other, but things cannot be that perfect if you are constantly wanting something from your spouse that they don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI think that Allende is trying to tell us that we need both materialistic and spiritual parts in our life. She brought Esteban and Clara together for that exact reason I think. Clara and Esteban could not be more different and opposite of each other. Esteban is hard and worldy while Clara is free and sort of heavenly. When they are together though it is a good thing. These different sides compliment each other. Having both of these views in ones life would make one a well rounded person and open to other side of something.
ReplyDeleteThrough the union of Esteben and Clara, Allende is showing that the contrasting ideas of materialists and spiritualists are stronger and more beneficial as a combined force. Both are needed to stabilize one's life. Clara alone would not be able to survive the world with just her spirit friends to guide her, Esteben provides her needs and offers a more realistic scene to the family. After Clara's death it is clear that the Trueba family cannot function the same without Clara's spiritualist ways. Clara's beliefs miraculously kept the family together for so long. Belief in something greater than the world provided hope and an equilibrium to the family and when that balance was diminished so did their lifestyle.
ReplyDelete