Isabel Allende: An Author’s Extraordinary Life

Isabel Allende is a Chilean author whose work has been translated into 35 languages. With more than 70 million books sold, she is considered the world’s most read Spanish-language author.

She is also the daughter of diplomat Tomás Allende Pesce, cousin of former Chilean President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown by a military coup on September 11, 1973.

Through her works, Isabel Allende reveals the sublime beauty within everything feminine, and magically invokes these normally repressed and latent qualities in her readers. In a time of great political unrest, she chose literary activism with patriarchal ideological guidelines, and gave women a good foundation for their personal awakening and self-discovery.

With exquisite sensitivity, Isabel Allende has been able to transfer an unconditional love of beauty, to all the beauty of the world and to people. Honestly, one can get the mood lifted just by reading or listening to her works.

Allende always focused on trying to make the world a better place. She is more of an activist than a writer who uses love and beauty as her weapon. In this article, we talk about her journey and some of her works. Our intention is to pay tribute to this great woman who has inspired many people.

Isabel Allende and her childhood

Allende was born in Lima, Peru, where she lived during the time her father worked as a diplomat. Her parents have since divorced and as a result, she moved to Chile with her mother and siblings. For a time, they lived in their grandfather’s house.

This man was an authority figure who influenced Isabel in very important aspects of her life. After completing her studies, she married her first husband, Miguel Frías, with whom she had two children: Paula and Nicolás.

In 1967, Isabel became the editor of Paula , a women’s magazine. Her articles focused on the role women played in Chilean society. They were insanely ironic and because of that, they were very controversial. At this time, many changes were taking place in Chile.

There was a modern revolution and a movement concerning the liberation of women within a Catholic, conservative and patriarchal society.

Isabel Allende and her career and exile

After the famous military coup, Isabel Allende was forced to emigrate to Venezuela. She lived there for 13 years, working for a newspaper and at a school. During her stay in this country, she received the news of her grandfather’s very serious health condition.

Without being able to be by his side, Isabel began writing a letter that ended up being an unprecedented literary success for this Latin American woman: The House of the Spirits . In 1993, Bille August turned this work into a film, and it was a great success.

After the success of her first novel, Isabel Allende wrote two books that again became a success: Of Love and Shadows and Eva Luna . Later, and shortly after the publication of her third novel, Isabel decided to leave her job at the school and dedicate herself one hundred percent to writing.

After being divorced from her first husband, Isabel married the American lawyer, William Gordon, and moved to the United States. She has lived there since 1988.

Isabel’s awakening after the death of his daughter, Paula

In 1992 , the daughter, Paula, tragically died at the age of 28 in a hospital in Madrid. This hit Isabel violently, to the point where she entered a state of deep sorrow and despair that she did not feel she could get out of.

During this long and painful period, Isabel wrote Paula , a tribute to her beloved daughter. It became another big hit because of how many other women were related to it.

A tribute to the daughter

Paula , like The House of the Spirits , began as a letter, a declaration of love and at the same time a way for her to learn to accept her daughter’s death. She started writing while taking care of her daughter in the hospital. Paula is not only a letter to her daughter, but an autobiographical tale through which Allende tells the story of her family.

Allende let the emotions run free in this novel. The story follows the connection with her country’s situation, her family dramas and, among other things, family travels. On many occasions she has commented on the healing ability of writing. She says it has helped her see the things she has experienced.

Through Paula , we perceive how, Allende herself accepts circumstances and the death of her daughter. You could say that Paula was somehow a therapeutic exercise and a reality check.

With the money earned from the sale of Paula , she set up the Isabel Allende Foundation as a tribute to her daughter. Four years later, Isabel Aphrodite wrote while overcoming her depression. This book is about celebrating life: feeling lively and enjoying the senses.

Many see Aphrodite as “the song of life”, where the most important melodies are about gratitude and sensuality.

The amazing reflection of femininity

All of Isabel Allende’s works remind us of Dante’s beloved muse, Beatrice (Bice), who consolidated the incredibly idealized “screen lady”.

She was a lady who alone, by existing, made her beloved better. She was a reference for the women who served as a reflection of those who loved them. The so-called “better part of the sea”, through which one connects with one’s own divine nature.

It is the source behind the mirror, where creativity, inspiration and the best aspects of oneself radiate, grow and go beyond human potential. Dante saw her Beatrice as a “screen lady”.

In both a personal and professional way, Isabel Allende has been able to adapt to the traditional archetype of “screen ladies” that we learned from Dante. Instead, with her literary work, she has created a new mirror that reflects women who selflessly fall in love with themselves.

Throughout all of Isabel Allende’s works, we find a myriad of female protagonists. For example, in The City of Beasts , a woman plays an important role in it even though she is not the main character. To this we must add that the woman in The City of Beasts is an older woman and that nothing stops her despite that.

Another significant feature of the Chilean author is her reflection on Latin America. Their customs, traditions, existing duality and original tribes always inspired her. Isabel Allende appreciates the beauty of the world and the charming aspect of any society.