The Soul of a Woman: Rebel Girls, Impatient Love, and Long Life

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I have been training for years to be a passionate old woman, just as others train to climb mountains or play chess”. Allende’s vivacity and wit are in full bloom as she makes her pronouncements. . . . Her book is filled with succinct wisdom and big laughs. . . . As always, her secret weapon is honesty.” — Publishers Weekly For all the depressing statistics and anecdotes, Allende provides an equal number of stories of women who are making a difference, so that the effect of this memoir is overwhelmingly motivating and uplifting. If I returned to the GP, my blood pressure would probably be lower. We have to love ourselves a lot and love others without calculating how much we are loved in return. This is the stage of kindness."

Latin America’s feminist movement was always slower on the uptake then other countries so it’s only fair to assume that there may still be a long way to go before women are seen in the same way as their male counterparts. To live in peace, to be free, to be valued, to be regarded as equals regardless of religion, gender and race, and most important of all, to be loved. In most of the world, a woman’s value is tied to her youth and beauty and the objectification of women is still very much an issue. On top of that, take a moment to reflect on how men and women are viewed differently on the subject of sex. Men are almost praised for having multiple sexual partners whereas women are vilified.Feminism is not what we have between our legs but what we have between our ears. It’s a philosophical posture and an uprising against male authority…It’s a commitment to justice and a struggle for the emancipation of women… My problem with the book lay in some of Allende's comments on feminism which felt a little generic and off-hand at times particularly on the subject of the burka and how women wear it purely out of fear of men. This seemed to contrast with her more careful attitudes towards sexuality and gender pronouns and was disappointing to see. And whilst this is part memoir examing Allende's relationship with feminism. I found some of this generalisations did not hit the mark right and some of them were problematic when she spoke about wider feminism. The book as a whole also felt a little disjointed and unplanned which could be because I read an uncorrected proof. In the U.S., feminists like Gloria Steinem began to be seen and heard from, as well as seen on television in the 1970’s after NOW, the National Organization for Women, was formed, and the Equal Rights Amendment, originally introduced in 1923 was finally passed in 1972. For many, at the time, feminism was considered not only unnecessary because women were, supposedly, elevated to some sort of pedestal where they were considered to have an advantaged station in life. These are eye-watering achievements, and they belong to a woman more capable, more exceptional, than the series of trivialities, unsubstantiated claims and half-baked ideas making up The Soul of a Woman would suggest. The Soul of a Woman causes us to reflect on those individuals who impacted us in regard to our own view of womanhood. Were we born in an era, like Panchita, where masculinity was defined in terms of power, violence, conquest, and territorial gains in life? Were we raised to believe that women were only the child bearers and "home makers"? Or did someone of strength open the door forcefully to let the light of progress and the right of being shine across the way?

So what do women want? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will 'light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.' Her name was Reyhaneh Jabbari. I will never forget the day i heard the verdict for her execution. I will never forget her face, her name and many other women like her. The patriarchy is stony, Feminism, like the ocean, is fluid, powerful, deep, and encompasses the infinite complexity of life; it moves in waves, currents, tides and sometimes in storms. Like the ocean, feminism never stays quiet. An autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood … Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words' - GraziaThe Soul of a Woman is billed as “The collected wisdom of literary legend Isabel Allende – a meditation on power, feminism and what it means to be a woman”. Allende is, according to her biographical note, “one of the most widely read authors in the world,” a woman who has “authored twenty-six bestselling books that have been translated into more than forty-two languages and sold more than seventy-four million copies”. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Isabel Allende’s The Soul of a Woman spends some time considering the body’s failings in relation to ageing, but this memoir is mostly focused on and informed by rage about the patriarchy – a rage sparked when Allende’s mother was abandoned by her husband. Divorce not being allowed in Chile at the time, Allende’s father agreed to an annulment on the proviso that he never have anything to do with his three small children. Her brothers were allowed to vent their anger, but when Allende did the same thing, her mother consulted doctors to find out what was wrong with her daughter, suspecting colic or a tapeworm. Allende retrospectively diagnoses herself as an early bloomer: “I was a feminist in kindergarten.” When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, even before the concept was known in my family, I am not exaggerating."

Isabel Allende is believed to be the most widely read Spanish-language author and yet, she still faces struggles to be recognised in the same way that her male peers are. In this book alone, she exposes the fact that it took the collaboration of several Chilean leaders for her to be awarded the National Literature Prize. This prestigious prize has been awarded to just a handful of women since it was launched in 1942, but why?

Success!

A stunningly intimate memoir . . . Allende is that rare writer whose understanding of story matches her mastery of language.” — Entertainment Weekly When Isabel was growing up in Latin America during the 1950’s and 60’s, females were seen as subordinates in all ways. They were seen as victims of the time; they didn’t have a voice. They were not expected, in fact, to have a voice or an opinion. It was a man’s world, but has it really changed all that much? Nesta breve obra memorialista, Allende desmistifica realmente a velhice de uma forma cândida e divertida:

I had an agreement with a male friend … to commit suicide together when we deemed it appropriate. He was going to fly his plane – a tin mosquito – toward the horizon until we had no more fuel and then we would plunge into the Pacific Ocean, a clean ending that would spare our families the cost of two funerals. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, my friend’s pilot license expired and he could not renew it.”

About the contributors

Years ago, a successful woman would have hidden behind a male pseudonym (e.g. Mary Ann Evans wrote as George Eliot) and even today females often hide their gender by using only their initials (e.g. J.K. Rowling) making them non-gender specific in the hope that they will appeal to a wider audience. She seems very happy with her third husband, Roger. She frequently mentions her sex life and current sexual requirements (dim light, marijuana). Her topics veer discordantly between still being able to roll on the floor with her dogs; Sophia Loren’s figure; and the murder rate of women in Mexico. She lamely misquotes an overused joke from last year: “I should be writing a novel inspired by García Márquez: Love in the Time of Pandemic,” which ought, of course, to have ended with “Corona”, not “Pandemic”. Okay, writers make mistakes, but where were her editors? An autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood ... Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words' - Grazia