final reflection

Marquez and Allende choose to integrate magic into the mundane societies of their novels in order to further plot development as well as imitate Latin-American society and tradition. Neither "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"'s society nor that of "The House of the Spirits" allows for any form of "atheistic, practical, functional doctrine" (Allende 307), and both novels reveal the strong hold that the surreal maintains on Latin-American society. Catholicism as a reflection of culture is prevalent in both novels, making a magical influence inevitable. In Allende's "House of the Spirits", Clara conducts the energy and magic of both the house on the corner and the town. Allende manipulates her character to develop the novel's plot, instilling in Clara a mirror that reflects the mood and stability of Chile. When Clara dies, the magic dies with her and the town and country fall to turmoil, undergoing a coup and dictatorship. Allende creates ghosts to replace "the spirits...[and] luminous gaiety that had always been present because [Clara] did not believe that the world was a vale of tears" (Allende 295), establishing a sentiment of loss in both her novel and readers. The magic becomes a means for measuring the nation's stability. Marquez, meanwhile, chooses to emphasize the importance of honor and emotion over practicality in a Latin American community. His novel, set in a colorful yet tradition-ruled society, traces a murder commited for the sake of honor. Fate controls the course of both the plot and Santiago's life. Marquez's use of symbolism surrounding death, from dying from a broken heart to death by moral pain, culminates in Santiago Nasar's symbolic passing.