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April
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- Esteban and Clara
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April
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I like how the cataclysmic earthquake effected Clara. It helped her recede from the world of the Here-after and help those who needed it in the present. She was no longer passive and dreamy, but effective and caring(not to say she didn't care before). However, the same cannot be said for Esteban, who after the life changing event, was even angrier and more intense.
ReplyDeleteBlanca was making decisions on her own. She was devastatingly in love with Pedro Tercero, to whom her father couldn't stand, and becoming more and more rebellious.
Nice analysis. Doesn't Clara just feel earthy?
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was very powerful since it consisted of numerous events with different people. Esteban getting seriously gets injured and becomes a hot tempered form of a man who ends up treating his wife like crap. Clara wakes up and brings her head back from the clouds and cracks down to business running the family and helping with the rebuilding process.
ReplyDeleteBlanca and Pedro Tercero strenghten their relationship against the wishes of Esteban and vow to marry each other and live in Tres Marias one day.
Ferula sadly passes away on page 151, wearing "a moth-eaten velvet dress and petticoats of yellow taffeta, and the incredible curly wig of an opera star." She gave all and accepted and recieved nothing. What a woman!
This chapter wasn't exactly how I thought it would be, but it was even better. Blanca and Pedro's romance sparked a little more than I expected it to (p.157). I'm also very surprised that Esteban remains ignorant of the romance between them. the change in Clara was also rather unexpected (p.164), but I sort of feel proud of her for finally growing up and not relying on her fantasy world. I wonder if Esteban will eventually realize on his own how much of a woman his daughter is, or if something will happen to spark his knowledge of that subject. Does he even see how much his sons are becoming less like their own cultural backgrounds and more like young British boys? Besides Pedro Garcia, he doesn't seem to care very much for any of his tenants. He once said, "...when you get right down to it the land belongs to those who work it..." (p.170), but by saying that he is being hypocritical. They all work the land, but he doesn't allow them all to own it and profit from it. Esteban should treat them better if he wants to keep them around when they learn of all the things he's keeping away from them such as, minimum wage, health benefits, and the others.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter stuck out to me as one of the best because it caught my interest the most. There was so much that went on in this chapter that it is hard for me to sum it up. I guess I'll start with Clara.
ReplyDeleteClara is only a middle aged woman when it takes a devestating natural disaister to pull her out of her extended childhood trance. Part of this is most likely due to the fact that everyone, Clara's mother, Nana, and Ferula all pampered her since birth. Never once did Clara ever have to assume responsibility for anything, therefore she never learned how, and thought nothing of the responsibilities of others. That is until there was no one left but herself. It took forty years, but Clara is finally acting her age.
Esteban's lack of interest in the well being of his daughter is very heartbreaking. Even when he is cripled, and stuck in a wheel chair he doesn't take the time to consider the well being of his daughter- "...he greeted them with an indifferent kiss and forgot to ask after his daughter's health." (p.169) It wouldn't surprise me a bit to read that one day Blanca became so tired of her father's anger, and threats towards her lover that she simply up and left in the middle of the night with Pedro and never came back.
Speaking of Pedro Tercero, it made me laugh when I read about him singing the song of the hens and the fox to Esteban. Pedro Tercero has courage, and he doesn't fear the Patron. If anyone can save the peasants by teaching them about the outside world, I believe it will be him. My only fear is that he may not survive Esteban's rage once he finds out about Pedro pretending to be a preacher, and about Pedro and Blanca's love affair. Nevertheless, as it says on p.175 Pedro Tercero's father couldn't be more proud of him - "...he was proud of him and preffered to see him a fugitive..."
I believe this romance was foreshadowed when earlier in the novel, when they first moved to Tres Marias, they found Blanca and Pedro together naked beneath the table and it said that they were found in that exact same position years later.
ReplyDeleteI loved the romance from the start and im pretty sure most everyone knew about it too. I'm very suprised that the intelligent Esteban Trueba didn't pick up on the hints though. Or was it that he knew but chose to remain ignorant of the possibility of his daughter out gallavanting with someone below her social class. I also loved how Pedro Tercero really never gave up on his love for Blanca. And, even after marrying Jean, Blanca never lost her love for Pedro either. Even with some fingers missing (thanks to Esteban Trueba), Pedro still managed to become famous and continue their affair. That is one dedicated relationship <3
It is sad that no one was watching Blanca grow into the beautiful woman she becomes. They were to preoccupied with things around them to notice the important things happened right under their own noses. You have to feel bad for Blanca because no one is seeing her for her. They all still see her as a child.
ReplyDeleteI felt horrible after hearing the Pedro Tercero just turned and walked away at her arrival but it was so sweet that she went out to the river and found him waiting there for her. To me the sweetest thing they had together was their love for each other and how no one, no matter what the issue, was going to come between their love for each other.
Ferula's death was a big toll on the family. When Ferula first entered the dining room I personally was shocked to have seen her brought back into the story but Clara's knowing of her death was even more shocking. This woman who was tough as an ox was suddenly dead leaving a hole in the family.
The whole while that Blanca was away from Tres Marias never once did Tercero and Blanca drop their relationship. I think it was clever the way that Tercero signed his letters to her in a woman's name so the letters would not be intercepted.
The earthquake was devastating. So many people were lost to its powerful ruckus. Clara's panic showed through when she slapped Blanca. Though it may not seem like it parents are worried always about their children. They get angry and then happy to see that their children are safe in their arms.
Blanca's hate for her school was a constant. I love the way she faked illnesses so that she didn't have to stay in the school. On page 166, "We've sent for the doctor...showed through the design."
One of my favorite parts of the book: Blanca and Pedro's relationship!! I know, you're shocked right?
ReplyDeleteLet me begin by saying that this chapter made me cry like a big, fat baby. From the time Ferula walked into the dining room I was an emotional mess.
ReplyDeleteFerula's relationship with Clara always striked me as a bit odd, but I understood the strange dynamics. Ferula had spent her life caring for others and Clara had spent her life being cared for. They made a perfect match.
The scene of Ferula's death struck me as pitiful.Poor Ferula spent her entire life catering to others needs while she suppressed her own. I'm glad that during the last years of her life she was able to find some kind of outlet;
"She liked to wear used clothing that she bought in secondhand shops or picked from the garbage." pg. 151
In the end, Clara's actions were the most touching. Throughout the story she is often described in ways that make her seem somewhat absent minded and ungrateful. Clara apparently is more caring than she leads on.
"...the hydrangeas that you planted with your tow hands in Tres Marias turned out beautiful... every time I arrange them in a vase I thing of you, but I also think of you when there aren't any hydrangeas, I always thing of you, Ferula, because the truth is that since you left me no one has ever loved me as you did." pg. 152
This added a certain depth to Clara's character that I don't feel was present in the book until then. I wasn't even sure if Clara was completely self aware, but it appears that she has the capacity to truly care for others and to perform selfless acts.
Young love, what a fascinating thing. To have a love affair since you are toddlers is an unique but satifying concept. Throughout this chapter the love gets more and more intense. On page 172, ""I love you," she told him,weeping. "I love you, too."", this literally made me cry. To have to watch the love of your life leave due to your father's hatred would have to rupture the heart. Then to have to sneek out of the window (page 174, one example) for months waiting for him keeping your love a secret, wow, this takes dedication and compassion. Plus the concept that this goes on for years after Alba is even born. How she could imagine not being with her soul mate, is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the relationships in this book, this is definitally my favorite. From the very beginning of Blanca and Pedro's relationship had been haunted by ridicule. I think the whole forbidden love thing makes it just that much more interesting. I also liked the changes in Clara after the earthquake. She goes from floating through life without an earthly worry to actually taking care of things and running the house while Estaban is an outraged bedriden man.
ReplyDelete