Eva Luna

The unnamed country in which Eva Luna takes place is a patriarchy, likely based on the history of Venezuela, where women were first declared constitutionally equal to men in 1960 but continued to struggle for equality in the following decades. In Eva Luna, men hold exclusive control of the country at the highest levels. As Eva grows up, she witnesses sweeping changes in the country’s politics, but the imbalanced power dynamic between men and women remains firmly in place, suggesting that patriarchy is a deep-rooted force that indelibly shapes the lives of women in ways both large and small.

Eva’s mother, Consuelo, spends her life working as a domestic servant. As a poor woman with no connections, there are no other options afforded to her. Eva’s childhood is filled with a rotating cast of women who work as cooks and housekeepers. Even the wealthy women Eva later works for have little in the way of meaningful social power, satisfying their frustrated ambitions by ordering about other women of lower social standing.

For some of the women in Eva Luna, the weight of oppression is too much to bear. Eva’s madrina begins the novel as an attractive and formidable woman who owns her sensuality and carries “secret music” in her body. After she gives birth to a stillborn two-headed child, however, she is shamed for her sexuality and branded by the public as “The Little Monster Murderess” (119). She abuses alcohol to cope, and by the time Eva comes of age her madrina is senile. It is worth noting that, as a biracial woman, Eva’s madrina experiences both racism and misogyny, which sets her experiences apart from Eva’s.

As a trans woman, Mimí is subjected to particularly intense discrimination. She endures sexual assault and false imprisonment because of her identity. “Suffering, fear, humiliation and illness” have left her jaded, but she manages to keep a part of herself which “no sorrow, no violence” (242) can break. She utilizes the public’s fetishization and anti-trans biases to boost interest in her career, helping her become a well-known actress. Though Eva and Mimí are subject to the violence of the patriarchy, they each find ways to circumnavigate the oppressive forces of the unnamed country and achieve their goals. Both women’s success is predicated on their ability to shelter themselves from the effects of the traumas they endure.

The political reshufflings of Eva Luna do little to change the status of women in the unnamed country. Eva remains at a distance from politics until Naranjo becomes involved with the guerrillas. As Naranjo plans a revolution, Eva learns that the all-encompassing label of “the people,” the group to which complete liberation is promised, “[seems] to be composed exclusively of men” (264, emphasis added). This cements her belief that the promised uprising will not improve the lives of women. Even if Naranjo succeeds, she will “still have to make [her] own way” (264) in a world which is designed to limit her potential.

The women characters in Eva Luna understand the reality of their circumstances, yet, overall, they demonstrate resilience, bravery, and unrelenting good humor. As they advance their individual stations, the women also come together to uplift one another, from Elvira caring for Eva like a granddaughter to Mimí’s ceaseless encouragement of Eva’s writing career to Eva’s decision to pay for her madrina’s care. Allende showcases the way that adversity can create strong bonds and highlights the unique bonds shared by women, contrasting Eva’s suffering with the joy she finds in her relationships. Though the women cannot change their world overnight, the full lives they lead in a society which rather would box them in are a continual act of rebellion which helps to pave the road toward true equality.