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As a self-made man who earned all of his wealth from years of work spent improving Tres Marías, Esteban scorns communists and believes them to be lazy and stupid. Later in life, he turns to politics where he spends his money and effort trying to prevent the rising Socialist movement within the country. However, after the military coup he loses much of his power and suddenly has to face the fact that he has become an old and weak man. Yet it is not the loss of power, so much as the injury done to his country, that agonizes the highly patriotic Esteban. His realization that he desires the love of his family and peace in his country leads to a pivotal change in his character. In his last days, he slowly loses the rage that has been driving him all his life.
Main characters
Esteban has been established as a thoroughly rotten scoundrel, so selfish he banishes his own sister (Close) from the ranch for growing too friendly with his wife. He shoots at Banderas to drive him away, he beats his wife, he alienates his daughter, and, still not satiated, he runs for the Senate as a conservative. Alba and Esteban, linked by both familial bonds and by shared narrative roles, establish a set of opposites at the heart of the novel. Esteban is the product of both his generation and his class, the landed aristocracy; Alba, in contrast, entangles herself with progressive social upheavals and radical beliefs—many in direct opposition to her grandfather’s views. But the old man truly loves, respects, and perhaps understands his granddaughter. Esteban and the conservatives do all they can to discredit the socialists, including preparing to a military coup.
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The emphasis on the lives and loves of several generations of women, an important element of Allende’s writing, blends particularly well with the novel’s magical and supernatural elements. The novel also determinedly portrays the sudden upheaval and personal damage caused by the victory of a military dictatorship. From the feminist changes advocated by Nívea to the communist government preceding the military takeover and vehemently despised by Esteban, the novel presents a segment of the history of the author’s country. The book’s primary vehicle for that historical progression is Esteban Trueba, who unifies the various generations of women presented. He marries Nívea’s daughter Clara, having first loved and lost her other daughter; he provides his daughter Blanca with somewhat dubious parenting; and he protects and loves his granddaughter, Alba.
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Esteban hates Pedro Tercero, who plays a guitar and sings songs of revolution, but Blanca sneaks out her window every night to meet him. A Frenchman named Jean de Satigny comes to stay at Tres Marías and notices Blanca immediately. He follows Blanca when she sneaks out to meet Pedro Tercero and finds them making love by the river.
Some of the characters' names are significant, particularly the women's names, which often indicate the personalities of the characters. The names Nívea, Clara, Blanca, and Alba are more or less synonyms, and this is mentioned as a family tradition. Just the cost of shipping supplies and whisky in such a huge country with widely separated population centers is a barrier. These also militate against the emergence of regions or regional styles.
Guests are highly encouraged to dress in period costumes for the soirée, or in other elegant dress befitting a haunted cocktail party. Clara's gifts are not made integral to the story; the filmmakers see them more as ornamentation. The book was first conceived by Allende when she received news that her 100-year-old grandfather was dying.
Esteban believes his party will win the election as usual, but the People’s Front ends up gaining control of the government. Clara passes away after gently explaining to Alba that she has always been in touch with spirits on the other side and will be in contact with the rest of the family. Blanca's mother, Clara del Valle is a child from a well-off family in Santiago whose father is running for the Senate. Clara possesses clairvoyant abilities and foresees her own marriage to Esteban Trueba, a miner.
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Blanca Trueba
That, and the reality that the distillers as individuals don’t have long distilling histories and are putting their own stamps on their products. Canadian consumers have embraced “local” and “authentic” and are prepared to pay the higher prices small distilleries must charge. Governments have been slow to recognize this emerging industry except in BC and Alberta, where there has been significant growth. I think there is a growing cohort of Canadians who want more from their whisky and are prepared to support Canadian distilleries that provide good quality and a real story as well.
Nana gives Rosa some of the brandy, which Rosa drinks and goes to bed. Rumors spread that the Conservative Party sent the brandy to Severo as revenge for joining the Liberal Party despite his high social status, but this is never confirmed. The only thing known for sure is that the brandy did not come from the southern voters. The entire del Valle family is devasted, as is Esteban Trueba, who returns from the mines.
Esteban helps Blanca and Pedro Tercero flee to Canada, where the couple finally find their happiness. Alba is a solitary child who enjoys playing make-believe in the basement of the house and painting the walls of her room. Alba and Pedro are fond of each other, but do not know they are father and daughter, although Pedro suspects this. Nicolás is eventually kicked out by his father, supposedly moving to North America. In Canada, since we blend the mature single-grain spirits, we can control the actual contribution of each grain and need a lot less rye to get the same effect as we would with a mash bill.
She is the only member of the family to develop a close and loving relationship with Esteban. Although she thinks that Jean de Satigny is her father and that he is dead, Alba meets Pedro Tercero and establishes a friendship with him. When she is eighteen, Alba enters the university where she meets Miguel, and they fall in love. They participate in some of the growing number of anti-conservative protests that are springing up around the country. Esteban offers a monetary reward for anyone who can reveal Pedro's whereabouts to him. Esteban García, unrecognized by his father, aids in helping to find Pedro.
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