Women of Spirit: Comparison of the way women influence men in The House of the Spirits and This Earth of Mankind.
What exactly is power? Is power the ability to topple governments and start revolutions? Or is power the ability to manipulate people skillfully? There are many possible answers depending upon how one interprets and understand the question. Men can be physically stronger and more demanding than women, but do these abilities really control women? Both Allende and Pramoedya's novels help readers to explore the many questions and conflicts between the female characters and male characters in the novels of The House of the Spirits and This Earth of Mankind. Both Allende and Pamoedya seem to develop some strong female characters who affect the male characters.
Men in both novels are attracted to physically beautiful women and have powerful urges to seduce them. The relationship between Rosa the Beautiful and Esteban Trueba is an example of women influencing men. When Esteban first sees Rosa, he falls in love due to her spectacular beauty. As a result, Esteban is determined to become rich and powerful to please her. Rosa has the power not only to motivate him to work harder, but also to provide Esteban with hope for a successful future. Similarly, Esteban is also attracted to his wife Clara's physical presence, which haunts him since he knows that he can never truly posses her. In order to please her, Esteban tries to obey her, respect her and favor her wishes. For instance, Esteban builds her the big house on the corner to show his affection for Clara. This example displays the physical attractiveness in a women can have a strong influence in men.
In the same manner, the male character of Minke in This Earth of Mankind falls under the spell of Annelis's beauty, and it is her beauty that first captures Minke's heart. Minke observes that:.
Where else on this earth of mankind could.