The Portrayal of Women in the Novels "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Marquez and "The House of the Spirits" by Isabel Allende

In One Hundred Years of Solitude empowerment comes only through age, for instance Ursula Iguaran, the matriarch of the Buendia family and to some extent Macondo, or through strength of sexuality, for instance Pilara Tenera the 'sexual matriarch' of Macondo. This is in contrast with The House of the Spirits where empowerment comes also through force of conviction, as seen with Nivea, and also through commercial enterprise as seen with Transito Soto. These women represent Allende's own brand of feminism Furthermore those women who except a traditional role of subservience and remain staunch in their conservatism are shown to finish their days alone and mostly forgotten as is seen with Ferula and Nana. As the novels were set in first half of the twentieth century in Latin America, the role of women in the social hierarchy of this backdrop is worthy of consideration.…