The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende and No One Writes To the Colonel by Garcia Marquez are stories of many similarities. One of the most prominent likenesses found in these pieces of literature is the theme of greed and gluttony. Each story has character that represents the burning desire for money, power and self-indulgence. In The House of the Spirits these traits are shown in Esteban Trueba, while in No One Writes To the Colonel they are shown in Sabas. Through out the respective stories, the greed and gluttony expressed by these characters is the cause of their wealth and power, but is also responsible for their inner-turmoil and negative perception by the society in which they live. From a distance it appears that Trueba and Sabas are within reach of all their goals, while a closer look reveals that the personal relationships they most desire are hindered by the very ambition that lifted them to their high places in society.
In The House of the Spirits, Esteban Trueba was born into a family of poverty. With his family’s money having been dwindled away by his father, Trueba was left almost penniless, loathing over the wealth he should have had. As a young man Trueba decides to take the money he has made for his mother, and use it to by an expensive drink from a little café. In the book, Allende condemns Trueba for his greed when his desired beverage is spilled before the cup even touched his lips. Allende does well to convince the reader of the bad nature of greed while still allowing them to feel sympathy towards Trueba. On the one hand, one can’t help but feel sorry towards the poor young man wishing only to fulfill a dream. But, as his sister tells him when he arrives home, clothes soaked in Viennese coffee, “That’s what you get for spending mom’s medicine money on your private little whims, God punished you.”(43) The true greed Trueba displayed is described by his sister, leaving the reader with a conflicting attitude towards Trueba’s attempt at self-indulgence.
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Trueba also expresses covetousness in his relationships with Rosa and Clara. In the beginning of the novel, Trueba tries to possess Rosa. He desires her completely and wants total control over her. After devoting his life to a love that doesn’t even reflect his emotions, Trueba finds Rosa dead; again he is punished for his greed. Trueba’s true grief is shown when he sees Rosa dead in her coffin, as beautiful as ever. The following passage is from the graveyard where Rosa is being buried.
‘Damn her! She slipped through my hands!’ they say I shouted [Trueba], falling to my knees beside her, scandalizing all the relatives, for no one could comprehend my frustration at having spent two years scratching at the earth to make my fortune with no other goal than that of one day leading this girl to the altar, and death had stolen her away from me. (34)
What Allende tries to do with her novel, is make the reader aware of the consequences one receives for trying to control another soul. When Trueba marries Clara he is not content with having her has a wife. Their entire marriage is jeopardized because Trueba won’t be content unless he has absolute control over her mind, body, and spirit. A close relationship with Clara is ultimately what he wants, but in the end their marriage ends with the two of them not speaking to each other in years.
In No One Writes to the Colonel, Garcia Marquez uses the character Sabas to display the greed and gluttony of the society. Sabas is a man that gained wealth by betraying his side in a civil war, and swindling money away from the other people in his town. Sabas is surrounded by his wealth, but the reader can tell that he gets punished for his voraciousness. Marquez uses Sabas’ obesity to show how truly wealthy he is compared to the starving skeletal figures of the other townspeople. In No One Writes to the Colonel, Sabas is referred to as a man “trying to stuff a voluminous belly into his breeches,”(166) while the Colonel is “dying of hunger.”(179) Diabetes is just one way that Sabas has been punished for his actions. Not directly responsible for his diabetes, Marquez hints that the selfishness of Sabas justifies Sabas’ disease. In the House of the Spirits, Trueba is cursed with a similar disease, the chronic shrinking of his body that haunts him during the latter years of his life. This disease that Trueba experiences as he grows old has to do with the diminishing relationships Trueba has with his family and his ever important dignity that is slowly dwindling away.
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Both Sabas and Trueba accomplished much politically and financially. They rose the ranks of society to become men with great influence. Both authors made it apparent that on their way to the top; Sabas and Trueba were both mercenaries. Because of their self-centered approaches both men had very little respect from the people that they lived amongst. The people he employed punished Trueba for his gluttony. As a young man Trueba began ruling the peasants with an iron fist. He had absolute control over the people and profited from their blood and sweat. After the community began to prosper, Trueba lived extravagantly owning any material item he desired, while the hard work the peasants put into the fields and cattle hardly reflected their living conditions. After years of terror, and intolerable working conditions, the very people that helped Trueba acquire and maintain his wealth tied him up and held him hostage. A sheer act of defiance towards Trueba, the workers were merely trying to get their revenge for the tyranny he bestowed upon them. In No One Writes to the Colonel, Sabas is as cruel and disrespectful to the people of his town as Trueba was to the people of Tres Marias. An example of Sabas’ cruelty can be found in his dealings with the Colonel. An old friend in desperate need of food, the colonel contemplates selling his prized fighting rooster to Sabas who initially offers 900 pesos. When the Colonel’s situation worsens and he has to sell the rooster, Sabas decreases his offer to 400 pesos, less than half of the original offer. After witnessing this act of greed, the town doctor refers to Sabas as an “Animal who feeds on human flesh” thus showing the disrespect the townspeople have towards Sabas.
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The reader also senses disrespect towards Sabas because of his betrayal of his beliefs. It is hinted that Sabas was part of the losing side in a civil war in his country, and he immediately changed sides so that he could benefit. Resentment is felt by the reader towards Sabas because of his never present morality and his thirst for money and power. In The House of the Spirits, Trueba is constantly trying to shape his entire family, much like his desired possession of Rosa and Clara. Trueba eventually severs all relationships with his children because he is unable to control them and he refuses to compromise in their relationships. Trueba is shown as a man that would rather not speak top any of his children than have them living lives he does not approve. He even denies his daughter of her one true love because he is a peasant. Trueba is chastised for his greed for control, because through everything, his daughter’s love only grows stronger with the passing of time. It appears that Trueba’s son Jaime merely lives a liberal life only to spite his father. This is shown in the fact that Jaime is a doctor of the poor, and has political ties with the leftists his father rejects.
Marquez and Allende do well in expressing the subtle consequences for greed and gluttony. Both Trueba and Sabas were wealthy powerful men that obtained nearly everything they desired. Because of their selfishness, they lived lives that, compared to the money in their pockets, were extremely poverished. The reader is taught by reading No One Writes to the Colonel, and The House of the Spirits that there are consequences for living a life that is that self-centered and filled with greed. When Trueba tried to possess Rosa and Clara and control his family, it ended with separation from all of them. When he become powerful and wealthy from the hard work of others he was kidnapped and held hostage. Sabas shared a similar fate as Trueba because of the greed the two expressed. When Sabas cheated his people and betrayed his beliefs for money and prestige he was ultimately left with no respect from the townspeople. Allende and Marquez both curse these characters with lifetime diseases, Trueba with chronic shrinking, and Sabas with diabetes. Condemned for their greed and gluttony, both men lived lives that were filled with money, power, and material possessions but lacking in love, kindness, and compassion. Both Allende and Marquez make it apparent throughout their stories that one doesn’t reach true happiness by exploiting those around them. Rather in a sense of magical realism, happiness is found with the convergence of the body and the soul, the living and the dead, or the wealthy with the humble.
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