The House of the Spirits is a novel written by Isabel Allende in 1982. One of the main characters in the novel is Esteban Trueba. As the story progresses, we see Esteban continuously thinking he can get what he wants but never stays satisfied. He goes through many changes throughout the novel. The main alterations include violence, family problems, and relationship issues. Esteban Trueba grows from being a hardworking labor boy to a rich and wealthy man throughout the story. The author portrays Esteban’s character as possessing a harsh and strong personality.
Even though he leaves his mother and sister and starts a brand new independent life, he changes a lot. Esteban sees Ferula in bed with Clara and threatens Ferula that if he ever sees her again, she will be murdered. “I see my curse on you, Esteban! ” Ferula shouted back. “You will always be alone! Your body and soul will shrivel up and you’ll die like a dog! ” (Allende 142). He leaves his family because he becomes sick of being told what to do and also is greedy for money. For the very first time, Esteban is rich and successful.
He has a feeling that there is no problems going on in his life because he doesn’t have a family to boss him around. Esteban decides to act like a grown-up and takes controls of his own life. Esteban moves to Tres Marias in the middle of the novel. After moving, it was a much better decision than living with his sister and mother. These moments created greed and perfection. Esteban receives a letter from Ferula and it brings back memories with her and his mother which was a sad story. It forces him to go through the memories of pain a poverty, and he remembers the smell of the medicine that encompassed their home.
Ferula lets Esteban know in a letter that their mother would really love to see him again before she passes. “Esteban had never really loved his mother or felt at ease in her presence” (Allende 71). It explains the feelings Esteban felt when he had to make changes in his life. Visiting “this woman who was always present in his nightmares was unavoidable; death is final and feelings are not (Allende 72). Every year, Esteban continuously gets what he thinks he can get while pretending to be unhappy. It could have something to with the reason he drives his family members away.
He has a negative feeling for people that hate him. After he purchases a luxury, he gets yelled at for “spending Mama’s medicine money on his private little whims” (Allende 43). He also loses his wife and his son gets murdered. Finally, Esteban is angry and goes to look for a “destiny that was bright, free, and full of promise” (Allende 44). It causes him to change and he gets really frustrated. It is a turning point in the story for him. It shows him changing after significant family problems undergo. He changes near the end of the story by having a relationship with Alba, who is his granddaughter.
He is able to express his tenderness towards her, after all his failed relationships. He writes the chapters in the book and narrates it when he becomes an old man. He becomes violent and tries to kill Pedro, attacks Blanca, and knocks out Clara’s teeth in the story. He becomes aggressive because of bad things going on in his life. It shows he changes by becoming aggressive towards family members and others and is a sneaky kind of person. Esteban Trueba grows from being a hardworking labor boy to a rich and wealthy man throughout the story.
