Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

The Big House on the Corner

Esteban builds a big house on the corner that on the surface is straightforward, if somewhat ostentatious. Similarly, The House of the Spirits can be read as a traditional romance novel, following a single family over several generations. However, Esteban’s house ends up full of complicated and impractical additions. Despite its apparently traditional structure, The House of the Spirits contains an enormous number of complicated twists of plot. The title of the novel underlines the association: The House of the Spirits refers both to the book as a whole, and also to the big house on the corner, which, thanks to Clara, is always full of ghosts and spirits.

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