The House of the Spirits

by

Isabel Allende

Clara’s dog. After Marcos dies, Barrabás is found among Marcos’s possessions as a puppy. He is delivered to Severo and Nívea de Valle’s along with Marcos’s body, and Clara instantly falls in love with him. Barrabás is of an unknown breed, and he has a tail that can clear tables with a single swipe. Barrabás never leaves Clara’s side, but he is mysteriously stabbed and killed the night of Clara and Esteban Trueba’s engagement party. Severo and Nívea fear the dog’s death is a bad omen, but the wedding progresses as planned. As a wedding present, Esteban has Barrabás made into a rug, and he presents the rug to Clara when he gives her the big house on the corner. Clara faints at the sight of Barrabás as a rug, and the rug spends years stored in the basement until Clara’s granddaughter, Alba, resurrects the rug and puts it back in Clara’s bedroom. Barrabás’s presence is felt in three generations of del Valles, which underscores the family’s profound connection and shared history throughout the years.

Barrabás Quotes in The House of the Spirits

The The House of the Spirits quotes below are all either spoken by Barrabás or refer to Barrabás. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Class, Politics, and Corruption Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

Barrabás came to us by sea, the child Clara wrote in her delicate calligraphy. She was already in the habit of writing down important matters, and afterward, when she was mute, she also recorded trivialities, never suspecting that fifty years later I would use her notebooks to reclaim the past and overcome terrors of my own.

Related Characters: Alba de Satigny (speaker), Clara del Valle/Trueba, Barrabás, Marcos
Related Symbols: Clara’s Notebooks
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
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Barrabás Quotes in The House of the Spirits

The The House of the Spirits quotes below are all either spoken by Barrabás or refer to Barrabás. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Class, Politics, and Corruption Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

Barrabás came to us by sea, the child Clara wrote in her delicate calligraphy. She was already in the habit of writing down important matters, and afterward, when she was mute, she also recorded trivialities, never suspecting that fifty years later I would use her notebooks to reclaim the past and overcome terrors of my own.

Related Characters: Alba de Satigny (speaker), Clara del Valle/Trueba, Barrabás, Marcos
Related Symbols: Clara’s Notebooks
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis: