The House of the Spirits: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

Esteban continually interrupts his retrospective narrative with interjections from his current perspective, which reminds the reader that he is telling a story. Tres Marías is again a thriving estate, in large part because of Clara and her hard work, which Esteban doesn’t seem to realize or appreciate at this time. Esteban is upset by Clara’s fear of him because he deeply loves her, whereas he seems unfazed by (or even unaware of) Blanca’s fear of him.

The hole Esteban drills in the wall hearkens to Férula and the great lengths she went to in order to spy on Clara and Esteban. The more Clara pulls away from Esteban, the more he loves her, which reflects his own self-consciousness and insecurities. Despite Esteban’s obvious love for Clara, he still threatens her with violence, which further speaks to Esteban’s insecurities. He can’t win Clara over in a romantic way, so he plans to take her by force.

Presumably, Esteban’s shrinking stature is a result of Férula’s curse that Esteban would “shrivel up” and “die like a dog.” However, Esteban’s refusal to tell anyone about his shrinking or his extreme pain (as many of his bones were shattered in the earthquake, his pain must be severe) suggests he is afraid of appearing weak. As a man, Esteban feels he must always be strong, and to admit otherwise is a hit to his masculinity.

Obviously, Blanca is sneaking out her window to meet Pedro. Jean clearly hopes to marry Blanca, but he doesn’t speak of love in the way Pedro does, which suggests Jean is only interested in marrying Blanca because she is the daughter of a rich landowner and likely has a large dowry and inheritance. Furthermore, Blanca is completely excluded from the decision to marry Jean, which again reflects the sexist nature of society.

Jean is described in nearly feminine terms, which initially makes Jaime and Nicolás standoffish, as men are expected to be masculine and strong in their society. Jaime and Nicolás’s reminder to Blanca that she is 24 years old also underscores society’s sexist assumptions that women of age should get married and start families as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Jaime’s friendship with Pedro, his interests in justice and equality, and his refusal to follow in Esteban’s footsteps suggests that Jaime believes in socialist ideals.

Despite being twins, Nicolás and Jaime are very different, and they obviously don’t get along; however, Jaime’s protectiveness of Nicolás speaks to their connection as brothers. Nicolás’s interest in the supernatural, yoga, and acupuncture mirrors Marcos’s earlier interests, which again illustrates the connection between family members, even those of distant generations. Amanda is also an example of a strong and independent woman, as she is intelligent and capable and does not conform to societal expectations. 

The fact that Esteban forgets so easily about the son he fathered with Pancha again reflects Esteban’s selfishness and feelings of superiority. As Esteban Trueba’s “bastard offspring,” Esteban García isn’t acknowledged by Esteban Trueba because he is a peasant. Pancha’s belief that her son and grandson would have the same opportunities as Blanca and the twins had they been born in their place again underscores the country’s class struggle—it suggests Esteban García is only of a lower status because Pancha is a peasant and not an upper-class woman like Clara. Ironically, old Pedro is the only character who can claim perfect memory, which is another way in which old Pedro is superior to those of the upper classes. 

Esteban García’s hobby of torturing chickens and his desire to do the same to old Pedro’s dead body suggests that Esteban García cares little about others and may have inherited Esteban Trueba’s violent ways. Since old Pedro saved Esteban Trueba’s life after the earthquake and saved the hacienda from the ant infestation, Esteban has great respect for the old man, which is reflected in his desire to give him an appropriate wake. Many cultures believe that having one’s picture taken can trap the soul, which is reflected in their destruction of the Jean’s photography plates.  

Esteban doesn’t want Father José on his property because Father José is a socialist known to spread ideas of equality and fair wages, which Esteban clearly doesn’t want on his land. If Father José’s message takes hold, Esteban won’t be able to exploit his peasants as easily.

This passage illustrates the corruption of the nation’s government. Even if the people do vote fairly for a more liberal candidate, their votes are switched out for conservative votes, which maintains the nation’s status quo and keeps the lower classes beneath the upper classes. Pedro Tercero’s message to “shake off the yoke under which they have always lived” encourages the peasants to rise. However, the fact that they are too scared illustrates the level of intimidation under which they live.

The fact that no one knows anything about Jean, in addition to his refusal to have his fortune read, suggests he is hiding something. Presumably, Jean isn’t who he says he is—he may not even be French—but the Truebas don’t suspect much yet. The character of the Poet is thought to be based on real-life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who also served as Senator in the Chilean Communist Party. 

Jean clearly knows nothing about chinchillas, which further suggests he isn’t who he says he is. Jean’s continued spying on Blanca also suggest he isn’t completely honest, as he tries to win Blanca through dishonest means rather than directly. Jean knows nothing about Pedro Tercero, but the love between Pedro and Blanca is more than apparent when Jean finds them together near the river.

This passage is further evidence of Esteban’s violence. He doesn’t just want to punish Blanca and Pedro, he wants to “kill them both,” which Esteban would likely do if not for Clara. Likely, Jean knew that Esteban would react in such a way (Esteban’s temper is apparent to everyone else, so it must be to Jean as well), but Jean selfishly betrays Blanca anyway.

Esteban’s comment that Clara has raised Blanca without any sense of her own class again identifies Esteban as both a classist and a sexist. He doesn’t want his daughter involved with a peasant, and when she disappoints him and falls in love with Pedro anyway, Esteban completely blames Clara. Esteban refuses to take any responsibility for his children, which he considers a woman’s job, and when things don’t work out the way he plans, he never takes the blame.

While Esteban frequently abuses the female peasants, this is the first time he is physically abusive to Clara. Despite the physical pain Clara is obviously feeling, she stands tall and refuses to let Esteban have power over her. As a woman, Clara has limited freedom, but she makes Esteban suffer for treating her and Blanca so badly by withholding her love from him—the only weapon she has to leverage.

Again, Esteban absolutely refuses to take responsibility for his own actions. Clara and Blanca have left, and Esteban’s marriage has been ruined because of Esteban’s violence and cruelty, not because of Pedro Tercero. Esteban García is obviously trying to get in Esteban Trueba’s good graces, which is why he is willing to betray Pedro.

From the way Esteban García picks up the severed fingers, it’s clear that he’s not put off by violence and torture, although Esteban Trueba seems to be negatively affected. Esteban Trueba nearly kills Pedro, but the fact that he vomits afterward suggests that Esteban wasn’t quite prepared to kill him, despite all his talk to the contrary.

Obviously, Esteban García and Esteban Trueba aren’t weeping for the same reasons. Esteban Trueba is having a rare moment of insight into his poor character and violent ways, whereas Esteban García is weeping because his biological grandfather has rejected him. Esteban’s confession that he has never killed anyone suggests that his violence and poor temper are just a front, and he feels differently deep down.