The Life Of Isabel Allende, An Exceptional Writer

Find out more about Isabel Allende’s life in this article. Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer whose work has been translated into 35 languages. She has sold over 70 million books. For this reason, she is considered the most widely read Spanish-language author in the world.

She is also the daughter of the diplomat Tomás Allende Pesce. He was a cousin of the former president of Chile, Salvador Allende. On September 11, 1973, Salvador Allende was overthrown by a military coup d’état.

Through her writing, Isabel Allende reveals a dazzling beauty in all things feminine. She magically evokes in her readers these qualities that are usually suppressed and latent.

In a time of enormous political turmoil, she opted for literary activism against patriarchal ideological guidelines. She gave women a great manifesto for their personal awareness and self-discovery.

A love of beauty

With exquisite sensitivity, Isabel Allende has managed to convey an unconditional love for beauty. It is a love for all the beautiful things in the world and for people. We can honestly say that reading or listening to her work can lift the spirit.

Allende’s focus has always been to try to make the world a better place. More than a writer, she was an activist who used love and beauty as her weapons.

In this article we will talk about her journey and some of her works. It is our intention to pay tribute to this amazing woman who has inspired many people.

The early years in the life of Isabel Allende

Allende was born in Lima in Peru. She lived there while her father worked as a diplomat in Peru. Her parents divorced. As a result, she moved to Chile with her mother and siblings. They lived in the house of the grandfather on the mother’s side for a while.

This man was an authoritarian figure who influenced Isabel Allende’s life in very important aspects. After finishing her studies, she married her first husband, Miguel Friás. Together they had two children, Paula and Nicolás.

In 1967 Isabel became the publisher of  Paula,  a women’s magazine. Her articles dealt with the role played by women in Chilean society. They were hilariously ironic.

That was also the reason they were very controversial. At that time, many changes took place in Chile. There was a modern revolution and a movement for the liberation of women in a Catholic, conservative and patriarchal society.

Her career and exile

After the famous military coup, Isabel Allende was forced into exile in Venezuela. In that country she lived for 13 years. She worked at a newspaper and at a school. During her stay in Venezuela, she received the news that her grandfather’s health was very serious.

She could not return to Chile to be by his side. Isabel went on to write a letter that eventually became an unprecedented literary success for this Latin American woman: The House of the Spirits. In 1993 Bille August brought this work by Isabel Allende to the big screen. The film was hugely successful.

After the success of her first novel, Isabel Allende wrote two more books. Again they were an absolute success:  Love and Shadow  and  Eva Luna. Later, shortly after the publication of her third novel, Isabel decided to leave her job at the school and devote herself entirely to writing.

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

The death of her daughter Paula and her awakening

Tragically , her daughter Paula died in 1992 at the age of 28 in a hospital in Madrid. This had a huge impact on Isabel. She got to a point where she entered a state of deep sadness and despair from which she seemed unable to get out.

It was a long and painful period in Isabel Allende’s life. At that time, she wrote Paula, a tribute to her beloved daughter. It became another big hit. This had to do with the fact that many other women were able to connect with it.

Like  The House with the Ghosts , Paula  started  with a letter, a declaration of love. At the same time, it was a way for her to learn to accept the death of her daughter.

She started writing while caring for her daughter in the hospital. Paula  is not just a letter to her daughter. It is also an autobiographical story with which Allende tells the story of her family.

The book  Paula and the life of Isabel Allende

In this novel, Allende let everything come out. The story follows, among other things, the context of the situation in her country, the dramas in her family, the family trips. She has often talked about the healing power of writing. It has helped her to deal with the things she has experienced.

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

With the money from Paula ‘s sale  , she set up the Isabel Allende Foundation as a tribute to her daughter. Four years later, Isabel wrote to  Aphrodite  as she went through the process of overcoming her depression.

This book is all about celebrating life: feeling alive and enjoying the senses. Many see  Aphrodite  as an “ode to life.” The main notes of this life song revolve around gratitude and sensuality.

The fantastic reflection on femininity

All of Isabel Allende’s works remind us of Dante’s beloved muse, Beatrice (Bice). She was the portrayal of the incredibly idealized “lady behind the screen.” She was a lady who made her beloved better just by existing.

Beatrice was the reference to those women who served as a reflection for the people who loved them. The so-called “great other” through whom one comes into contact with one’s own divine nature.

The source behind the mirror where creativity, inspiration and the best aspects of oneself are expressed, elevate and transcend human potential. Dante saw his Beatrice as the “lady behind the screen.”

Women as main character

In a personal and professional way, Isabel Allende has managed to transform that traditional archetype of the “ladies behind the screen” that we have learned.

On the contrary, with her literary work, she has created a new mirror that reflects women who eventually selflessly fall in love with themselves.

Throughout Isabel Allende’s work we find innumerable female protagonists. For example, in  The City of the Wild Gods  , the main character is not a woman.

Yet she plays a fundamental role in the story. We should also add that the woman in  The City of the Wild Gods is  an older woman. Despite this, nothing ever stops her.

Another striking feature of this Chilean author is her reflections on Latin America. The customs, traditions, the existing duality and the indigenous tribes have always inspired her. Isabel Allende appreciates the beauty of the world and the enchanting aspect of any society.